


Classified

by DrgRcnGrl



Series: Classified [1]
Category: Transformers (Bay Movies), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 24
Words: 32,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23248222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DrgRcnGrl/pseuds/DrgRcnGrl
Summary: Taken in by her uncle, Jessica Lennox struggles to readjust to her new life. They say that some things never change, but she knew that everything would never be the same.
Relationships: Ironhide/Oc, William Lennox/Sarah Lennox
Series: Classified [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1679503
Comments: 3
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

My footsteps down the hall were the only noises I heard that morning, besides the snoring of my puppy. It didn't worry me too badly. Maybe Mom and Dad were just out too long and got a hotel. Worrying about them won't make them come back any quicker.

"Brandi, come here!" I called as I got out her little bowl. Her puppy food was mushy and canned. The smell was disgusting, but she seemed to enjoy it.

The food plopped out of the metal can and into her light blue bowl. The sound alone almost made me gag. Dogs enjoy this stuff? Props to them. I'd rather die than eat that crud.

As soon as I had called her name, she stumbled over to me and attempted to jump up my body. Before she could succeed, I bent down and placed her bowl on the floor. "There you go, baby girl."

She began gleefully scarfing down the foul smelling food. A smile reached my face as I rubbed her ears and patted her head. I sat down at the counter with some vanilla creamer-drowned coffee. I flipped through the script pages as I sipped my breakfast drink. A few minutes later, my coffee was no longer in my cup. My stomach was filled with the creamy drink instead. I glanced at my watch.

It was already seven-fifteen. Already late for practice.

 _Crap_.

Quickly, I pulled a shirt over my head. My fingers felt around my dresser drawer for a belt I could wear. Anything. I found what I was looking for and quickly shoved the belt through my purple jean belt loops. Before I knew it, I had gotten the rest of the way ready and was in my car.

Too bad the car didn't start.

I groaned and kicked the dashboard. The key inside my ignition was jammed from how hard I had forced it inside. Next time I get a car, I'm getting one that wasn't made thirty years ago. Maybe I'll get better quality.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. With a sigh of frustration, I took my phone out and looked at it. A text from Whitney.

'Where are you? Practice started early!'

Car problems. That's why I'm not there. Totally not because I woke up a bit late. Frantically, I replied to her message and grabbed my school bag. My fat butt needs the exercise anyway. Walking to school. Might be fun.

About ten minutes later, I made it to the front doors of the school. My feet hurt - bad day to wear my flats - and my stomach was practically screaming for food. It wasn't like I could do anything about either of them.

I knocked on the choir room doors, and they quickly swung open. I caught a glimpse of bright red hair in the window of the door. Whitney.

"Where were you?" Whitney asked in a hushed voice, grabbing my wrist and yanking me into the room. It wasn't an empty, quiet room. Quite the opposite.

The musical practice room was just the high school choir room. It was large, and at the moment held about thirty kids, all here for early morning practice. All of the students were in their friend groups, waiting for practice to start officially.

Before I could reply, the musical director clapped his hands. "Alright! We needs the lead roles to the front, in scene three position!"

Everybody quickly scrambled around the room. Whitney pushed me up to the front, and I hastily found my position on the tape. Soon enough, everybody was in their places, and Scene Three Run-Through began. Starting with me.

~

School that day started out slow. Mid-Term finals were beginning next week. All the teachers were doing their best to prepare us, meaning no real work or homework. Any normal student would be relieved, but all the work makes the days pass faster. No work? Slow days.

First and second period were both English. I'm in the year advanced class, so we have even less work on a normal basis. With Mid-Terms coming up, it is as close to a free period as we get. My Entire class was either reading or on their phones all class.

Me? I was reading over my scripts, trying to memorize them. Trying. Memorizing scripts never was my specialty, but I always end up on the good side. Or something. We'll see what happens.

Twenty minutes into second period English, the teacher left the room. One of the boys in my class, Joey, jumped up and flipped his desk.

"She's gone! She's gone!" he yelled with a grin. Several other boys started snickered, while the girls rolled their eyes. Everybody refused to get involved.

Except for me, of course.

Gently, I slid the script back into my folder. I stood up and walked over to Joey. "Stop yelling."

He stuck his tongue out at me. "No way, Jess. I'll do what I want." Just to prove his point, he flipped me off. His face looked proud.

Like the other girls, I rolled my eyes and went back to my seat. I'd rather not get involved if he gets in trouble. That'll be his problem.

Instead of going back to my script, I looked around the room silently. The room had low ceilings, so all the tall guys had issues. The room always felt cramped and stuffy. This day was no different. Joey had his desk flipped, and his work papers were scattered all over the floor. He was so going to be in trouble with Mrs. Adams, the dean.

A knock on the door made the room go completely silent. Nobody got up, so I ended up being the one to open the door. I was surprised at what I saw. It was a police officer, dressed in full uniform. His badge made me think he was a sheriff.

"Hi, can I help you?" I asked, tilting my head to look up at him. He was tall. Or maybe I'm just short.

The officer nodded, shifting his utility belt. Whatever its called, the belt that held his officer equipment. "Yes. Is a Miss Jessica Lennox here?"

"Yes, that's me," I smiled. I did nothing wrong, as far as I know. No need to worry.

Right?

"I'm going to need to take you to the police station. I'll explain on the way."

Behind me, I could imagine all my classmates going ohhhh. Like I was in trouble. Was I in trouble?

I only nodded. No problem. I'm not in trouble. "Okay."

He gave me a sad smile, patting my shoulder. "Bring your things, alright?"

_Am I not coming back?_

I did as I was told, and walked back to the officer. After giving him a short nod, he gestured for me to follow him out. I did.

What is going on?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I'm Elizabeth, and I've been a huge fan of Transformers since 2011. I wrote this when I was thirteen years old on Wattpad. I figured that I'd relive a bit of my youth in posting and editing it a little bit here :) I probably didn't find all of the mistakes and I've never posted on this site before so please bear with me!


	2. Chapter 2

On the ride there, I learned a few things. The officer's name was Jay, and he isn't such a big fan of talking. It was very obvious that he tried his best to avoid talking to me.

Hm. I'm pretty sure I showered this morning, so it's not that I smell bad. Maybe I just have one of those faces, and I look like his ex girlfriend. Maybe. Does he even have an ex-girlfriend? Man, my thoughts are weird. Maybe he's gay. We really can't judge.

The waiting room at the police station was pretty quiet. There was a man in the front, typing at a desktop computer. He dropped a pen, and I could hear it. That was how quiet it was.

I shifted quietly in my seat. It's been five minutes since I got here. Are they ever going to tell me what the heck is going on?

Another five minutes pass by, and all I can hear is talking in one of the back rooms. The light colored wooden door had a window in the middle of it, so I could see who was in there. It was the Sheriff and Officer Jay. They both were using their hands to talk. I couldn't pick out exactly what they were saying, but they kept turning back to look at the door. When they saw I was looking at them, they would quickly turn back.

The man in the front, the secretary, cleared his throat. "Are you Jessica Lennox?" He looked over at me. He had dark black hair, olive skin, and pretty green eyes. What is up with all the semi-attractive police officers?

With a small smile, I nodded. "Yeah, that's me. Am I in trouble?"

"No . . . " he replied softly, shaking his head. He closed his eyes and sighed. "They are going to explain in a minute."

Of course they are. He's the second person to tell me exactly that. It has to be bad, then, but they also said that I'm not in trouble. What else could it be?

My phone was vibrating up a storm in my jacket pocket. Lord knows how many messages I have, and who from. Probably some from the girls in second period English. They always did like to snoop around other peoples' business.

At the front desk, I watched the man get up and walk over to me. "Are you happy to be out of school today?" He took a seat beside me.

I shook my head. "Not really. School's not so bad, really. What's your name?"

"John Green," he chuckled. "That's different. Your perspective on school. Most kids dread school."

John, you have no idea how true that statement is. And your name sounds fake. "Yeah, I know. They just don't get it. You _need_ school, for many reasons. They're just too stubborn to understand it."

He raised his eyebrows. "You're the first kid I've met that said that you _need_ school."

I smiled. "There's a first time for everything, right?"

John smiled back, then a little bell rang. I looked over at the room where Sheriff and Jay were, and that was the door that was opened. Officer Jay walked towards us, looking a bit glum.

Officer Jay sat down on my other side, tilting his head to look at me. "Hey, Jess. Mind if I call you Jess?"

Shrugging, I replied, "I don't mind, but that's my mom's name."

He sighed, messing with his hands in his lap a little. "Okay, Jess. . . About your parents. . ."

Oh, no. . . His tone worried me. My heart rate sped up slightly, and I looked at him with a worried expression.

"I'm so sorry, Jessica," he said softly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "Your parents were found in an alley. It was too late. They're gone."

It was like my whole world stopped. What? My parents? Gone? Does that mean . . Dead? Oh,no. . No no no . . "They can't be," I whispered.

"I'm so sorry-"

My head spun as I tried to get my mind wrapped around the idea. How could they be gone? Why? Who? An orphan at age sixteen. What sort of story is that?

John at my other side looked like he had known the whole time. He didn't tell me before this. I guess it was just protocol that they had to have an officer tell me. It didn't make it hurt any less.

The two guys showered me with apologies, but they didn't mean much. I knew I was being a bit cold about it, but at least I'm trying to be realistic. I held back all my tears. No way was I going to cry in front of them.

I inhaled a shaky breath, then looked at Officer Jay. "Where am I going to live?" I asked softly. My eyes felt heavy, glazed over. I blinked hard to get the tears to go away. It wasn't like I could pay for that stupid house by myself with no job. What was going to happen to me? What happens to people like me?

He bit his lip. "Do you have any family?"

I paused. Family. Mom was an only child. Dad had. . . "Yeah, I do. An uncle." I quickly gave Jay my uncle's number. Praying that he would be home and get the call.

*~*

The funeral was held a few days later. They had the same friends, mostly, and I knew everybody who came. A total of about two hundred people came and went, paying their respects to my parents and telling me how sorry they were.

Hearing the same two words, "I'm sorry", gets very old very fast. I know they mean well, but I hear it enough from everybody. One person not saying it won't ruin my life. Maybe it's just their way of showing me that they care.

Brandi was there, in the funeral home, jumping up every single person that walked in the door. She barked away happily, not a care in the world. It didn't even occur to her that there was a very sad reason we were there. She only knew that there are sad people in this place, and needed cheering up with many many doggie kisses. I'll admit, it made me laugh a few times. I was surprised they even let her in.

Two hours passed. Most of the people were now leaving, done paying their respects to my parents and saying sorry to me. If I got a dollar every time I heard apologies, I'd have enough money to buy a car that actually works correctly.

The oversized puppy was exhausted from all that greet-and-licking she did. She was curled up in the corner, her tail wrapped around her body to be comfortable. I walked over to her and sat down beside her.

"Hey, baby girl." I ran my hand along her back, kissing her head. "Don't get too comfy. Uncle Will is suppose to be coming soon to pick us up." He was actually half an hour late. I wonder what's keeping him. I hope he didn't forget.

Brandi lifted her head up and looked at me. Her mouth opened, and she yawned loudly, a soft squeaking noise coming as the yawn ended.

I laughed softly. “Aw, Brandi Sue. . That was cute.”

She barked happily, plopping her head into my lap. Anything was a nice distraction right then. My whole world was turning upside down. I needed some level of consistancy.


	3. Chapter 3

Long car rides, road trips, they used to be my favorite thing. Everything I did felt different now. With a little puppy in the back seat, it makes the entire thing a lot less appealing. Even Uncle Will got annoyed with all the noise. The sound of Brandi whining was giving me a headache.

"Maybe we should stop at that gas station and let her out...?" I suggested warily. Uncle Will looks like he is getting fed up with Brandi and her whining. I'll admit, I am as well, but he has a short fuse. Shorter fuse than mine, anyway.

He tapped his thumbs on the steering wheel. "Yeah, but that's the last stop we can make if we want to be back h-, uh by eight."

He cut himself off. He was about to say 'home'. Was it my home now, too? It surely won't feel like home at first. A little farm in the rural parts of Washington DC. Not many animals, but now we are just adding a dog to the collection. Brandi will be able to run around and burn off some of that energy that she's had since I got her. Who knew a little Australian Shepherd could have that much energy?

Maybe I should have read up on Australian Shepherds before I bought one. They probably say something about being very energetic.

A stop at a 24/7 gas station was an order, like Uncle Will and I had talked about. He parked the truck, taking up two spaces, and let Brandi and I out. Brandi was on a leash, since I knew she wouldn't hesitate to run off and try to lick somebody.

The red leash was thick, to withstand her strength and not break. Not the best thing for my hands. Every time she tugged at the leash, my palm would almost get a rug burn. It made Uncle Will laugh at me, seeing me struggle.

"Maybe you should have gotten a lap dog!"

"Oh, she _wishes_ she was a lap dog!" I replied as I yanked Brandi back. She had been trying to sniff some trashcan that happened to be five feet away from her, just out of reach because of her leash. "But then she wouldn't be able to jump up onto people and lick them."

Uncle Will laughed and nodded. "She does like to lick people. And other things."

That did not bring an appropriate image to mind. What the heck kind of comment was that? Shaking my head, I puckered my lips and whistled. "Brandi! C'mon, girl, we're going back in the truck." Well, she was at least.

After we shut her up in the truck, I hopped off of the foot-board and dug my hand in my pocket. I could feel some money in there, dollar bills and quarters. I didn't pull anything out, but I could guess about ten dollars total. At a simple gas station, that could buy a lot.

Fifteen or so minutes later, we were back on the road. As it turned out, I got a large iced tea and some sodium-filled packaged sweets. Simple sugars, the works.

"You're going to have to pee if you drink that too fast," Uncle Will said as he drove. Highways were not too busy, especially at this time of day.

With a snort, I nodded. "I don't chug drinks like you do. Even if I did, hopefully, I'll be able to hold it. Right?"

"Hopefully."

Uncle Will wasn't the best in making conversation; that much was obvious. At least he tried, bless his heart. Without people that try, our world would be a very sad little place in the depths of this universe.

"So, what's up with all the musical stuff I had to pack in the back?" Uncle Will asked as he started off for the highways again. Since it was so early in the morning, next to nobody was on the roads yet.

"Wait, you don't know?" I asked. _How could he not know?_ Then again, it's not like I advertise it or anything. "I write my own songs and do some covers." The 'musical stuff' he had been talking about was my electric guitar, my acoustic guitar, my keyboard, speakers, standing microphone (like the ones you see in recording studios, a bit flat and circular), and my drum set. I don't get along too well with other people, so I do all the instruments. I'm definitely not good at any of it, but it's a hobby of mine. It was something to do that I could hold on to. Some sort of... Sameness.

He laughed softly. "Do you really play all those?"

"Yes, really. I'm a newbie on the drums, though. You need to have really good sense of rythm in order to be able to play right," I said. "There was this one kid at my old school, Patrick. He tried to play the drums, but the band director told him to leave. He was just plain awful." Back when I _was_ in band, probably when I was twelve. Now, I'm sticking to choir.

Uncle Will looked through his rearview mirror, then kept driving. It might have just been me, but he seemed a bit more cautious. All I could see out the side mirror was a black SUV. Maybe he's just paranoid.

"That kid doesn't sound like he was very good at playing the drums," he replied slowly.

I shook my head. "He wasn't. It was kinda sad, really, but he just didn't have the knack for drums."

"And you do?"

"Probably not, actually, but I can play well enough for it to sound good." With a little editing, of course.

"That's good. . ? I guess."

He sure isn't the sweet talker that Mom used to describe him as. More like awkward nerd, except for the nerd part. He doesn't seem too nerdy. Then again, what do I know? I'd only seen him a handful of times before this, and it had been over two years before now. That's what he got for moving to Washington, DC.

Sipping at my drink, I leaned my cheek against the cool glass window and looked out. Though it was mostly dark, there were street lights in some areas. With no mountains, it seemed that the land went on forever. Fields and fields of grass and a house here and there. I've never seen what Uncle Will's farm looks like, but I have a feeling it'll be right out of a storybook. All cute, white picket fence, and a nice color for the house. That's what he's described, anyway.

A sudden thought hit me. New school. New people. What would they be like?

Probably the cliche groups, with the jocks and the popular girls. The people that are rumored to do drugs, the ones that aren't rumored that do drugs. Maybe some kids that are like me. Love music and expressing themselves, but not extremely extroverted. If I'm lucky.

I'll probably end up sitting with the advanced math kids again, all doing Advanced Trig or something. Just so I won't have to sit alone.

The radio buzzed as we lost service in a certain area, under a bridge. It made that terrible screeching noise before I finally reached over and flipped it to a country station. I didn't even aim for a certain station- it just happened. Lucky for me, country is my favorite. Uncle Will didn't seem to care either which way.

My girl, Lady Antebellum. Her song, "Run to You", was playing. Instantly, a smile was on my face. This was my latest cover that I worked out the music for. The first song I planned on recording as soon as I got all settled in.

The digital clock inside the truck read "4:30". Three and a half hours until we are suppose to be back at his house. My new home. Can I even call it home? It surely won't feel like home at first. After a while, it should. It had to.

Before I knew it, my eyes began to drift closed. _Don't fight the drowsiness, Jessica. . ._ I told myself. Sleep was a good thing.

I slept the rest of the ride to the farm. When I awoke, it was only because a little midget person jumped into my lap, screaming my name.

"JESSICA!" little Annabelle hollered, wrapping her tiny arms around me as best she could. Sarah had placed her in my lap.

Now, I've never been one for kids. I don't understand them. Their minds are so one-track, only wanting what they want, and gosh darnit, they want it _now_. As you get older, you learn how to prioritize things. Or so they tell me.

"Anna, don't yell in her face. She was sleeping," Sarah chided as she leaned down. I was still in the truck, Anna in my lap. It felt crowded, even though it was a big truck..

"Mommy! She here!" Anna stuck a slightly damp palm on my cheek.

Oh, yay. Doesn't that sound fun to have on my cheek. I hope they have good facial cleanser.

_Jessica, stop being so negative. That helps nothing right now._

Sarah pulled Annabelle off of me to let me get out. After sleeping for a few hours, in a not very comfortable truck, my back hurt. I sound old.

Sixteen years old, back problems. Aren't I just peachy?

_Stop it!_

By eight thirty, with both Uncle Will and Sarah's help, we got all of my music equipment set up in my bedroom downstairs. Concrete walls, soundproof. We'll test out how 'sound proof' they really are with my drums. You can't exactly be gentle on the drums in order to produce good sound.

I put my hands on my hips and did a slow 360 around my room. Concrete floors, a big shag rug. That's not so bad. My style, actually. A nice beige color for the walls, no picture frames or posters, though I did hang my whiteboard and corkboard. The posters and pictures would come soon enough. I'd just have to unpack a few more.

A small black desk sat in the corner of my room, currently empty besides my purple binder. It had everything in it - my song list, lyrics to my originals, the lyrics to some covers, and sheet music that I wrote up for all my instruments.

Thankfully, my room was big enough to fit all of my equipment. If I couldn't fit my equipment in here, I don't know what I'd do. It's not like I'd be able to take over another room in the house. What kind of guest would I be if I did that? Even though I wasn't really a guest. It would take a while for everything to feel right again.

Would everything feel right again?

"Jessica! Breakfast!" I heard Sarah call down the stairs.

With a small sigh, not good or bad, I walked to my doorway. I took a final glance at my room and the items inside before walking upstairs.


	4. Chapter 4

For some odd reason, I always notice my footsteps. How they sound, how they make the floorboards creak beneath my feet, and I even count my footsteps when I get anxious. It is usually such a small sound, but just loud enough that I can notice it. This house was not much different from my home when it came to that. The floors made a slight sound as I walked, but it wasn't a bad sound that I hated. On the contrary, I enjoyed it. It made this place feel a bit more like home.

The dining room wasn't really much of a dining _room_. Sure, it had a table and a light hanging over it, but it wasn't a completely separate room. It was attached to the kitchen. At least it wasn't just a small counter that you can't even eat at.

Sarah had a pot of coffee in the middle of the table. In one hand was a coffee mug, one with a little pink flower on it. In the other hand was a newspaper. Funny, I didn't peg her as a newspaper reader. Just another reason you shouldn't judge people.

Uncle Will was at the other side of the table, not doing much else besides feeding Annabelle. Or, at least he was attempting. She was just blowing air in his face, her hands and mouth all sticky from syrup. Pancakes for breakfast, apparently.

When Sarah looked up, she saw me, and noticeably perked up. A smile reached her lips and she gestured for a chair. "Go get some food, then sit down, okay?"

Without a word, or much more than a small murmur, I grabbed a plate that already had a nice pancake on it. Steam rolled off the top of the pancake, and the sweet smell wafted up into my nose. I could almost feel my mouth watering, just at the smell and looks. I could use a good pancake right about now.

Annabelle squealed from the 'dining room'. "Daddy! I got you!" I heard her burst into happy giggles.

I turned back and saw that Uncle Will's face was completely covered in maple syrup. His eyes were closed, and he didn't look very happy. Dang, he looked. . . Funny. That's what we'll go with. He looked funny. His hair was plastered onto his head, from the looks of it, and it was dripping off the ends of his hair.

Little Anna was in her high chair, a halfway full bottle of syrup in her small hands. It had just been a full bottle of syrup.

Maybe living here won't be so boring after all.

"Sarah, could you go get me a wash rag?" His voice sounded strained, like he was afraid to move out of his position. One wrong move could probably leave his entire body filled with little maple syrup droplets. That would be tough to wash out.

Sarah bit her lip, probably to keep from laughing, and nodded. She then got out of her chair, walking to the kitchen to get a wet wash rag.

"That's a good look, Uncle Will," I grinned, sitting down at my place. "Really. Sarah chose right."

"Oh, ha ha ha," he rolled his eyes. With that small move, maple syrup dripped down from his eyelashes and onto his cheeks. That would suck to get in your eyes.

A minute later, Sarah was back. She wiped off Annabelle first, then got her out of the high chair to go play in the living room. Once the little toddler was on the ground, wreaking havoc along the floor, Sarah set to cleaning off Will.

"You know, when I got pregnant, I never thought I would have to take care of two toddlers," she joked with a smile, wiping his face off.

"I'm not a toddler," he laughed.

"You make messes like one," she pointed out.

"Hey! That wasn't my fault-!"

"Who gave Annabelle the entire bottle of maple syrup? Full _and_ opened?" Sarah raised one of her eyebrows questioningly.

Uncle Will paused, then sighed. "Me."

Sarah grinned. "Exactly."

"Better listen," I laughed from the other side of the table. "A woman is always right. Unless there are two women disagreeing. In that case, back away slowly and pretend nothing ever happened."

Sarah snapped her fingers and nodded. "Exactly!"

Second time she said that. It made me laugh, both at the 'second time' part and at how enthusiastically she had agreed with me. She's not so bad. It won't be too hard at all to live here.

Uncle Will just smiled and shook his head. "Women," he stated, feigning disgust.

"You know you love us!" I said in a sing-song voice, grinning from ear to ear.

He scoffed, placing a hand over his heart. "Me? Never. Nope." He was so sarcastic, it almost made me laugh again.

I looked down at my plate, at the large pancake that was staring me right in the eyes. It looked so round and so nicely colored. . . Without another thought, I smothered it in maple syrup. I glanced at Uncle Will, then held up the syrup bottle. "Hm? What was that about loving women?"

He held his hands up quickly, defeated. "Nothing! Nothing at all!"

Sarah grinned and clapped her hands once. "There we go! You tell 'im, girl!"

I grinned back at her before setting the bottle down. Before I began eating, someone knocked on the door.

"I'll get it," Uncle Will announced. He was taking off his shirt, and replacing it with a new one that was on the living room chair. This place needs serious organizing. They have folded clothes just laying on the living room couch. Maybe I'm just being too hypocritical.

At least its all folded.

Uncle Will opened the door, but I wasn't really looking. From overhearing their conversation, it was a man. Obviously not one I knew of.

"Will, there's a bit of an issue," the new man said. He had a slight accent, though what sort of accent was not clear. Australian, but just a hint of it.

"What kind of issue?" Uncle Will asked, leaning to one side as he looked at the new man.

"The kind that starts with 't' and ends with 'wins'," the man growled, obviously unhappy.

Uncle stifled a laugh. "That's . . . Normal, isn't it?"

"Optimus wants us to come help. Now."

"Okay, alright, just let me say goodbye." Uncle Will turned back to Sarah and I. He shrugged helplessly and walked over. I was done with my pancake. Done with it. No way I could eat any more. Sarah was behind me, eyeing the new man.

"He won't take no for an answer," Uncle Will said, semi-quietly. "I'll be gone till dinner. Can you girls hold up without me?"

Sarah nodded and put an arm around my shoulders. "Absolutely!"

I frowned up at him. "Who's that guy. . . ?"

"Him?" He jabbed his thumb back to point at the new guy. When I nodded, he said, "Oh, that's Ron. He lives here."

That guy. Lives here. And they never thought to tell me?

Gee, don't I feel loved. Feelin' the love, guys.

~

Sarah and Annabelle ended up going shopping around noon. She offered to let me come with, but I politely declined. Not knowing a lot about where I live is nerve-wracking, for me. It'd do me some good to at least learn my surroundings on the lot itself.

With my phone in my pocket, my lucky key-chain hooked onto one of my belt loops, and a good attitude, I set out to explore the farm. It wasn't too big, only about two or three acres. Right beside the house was a little barn, which I decided to see first.

My feet crunched against the colorful leaves as I walked. It is autumn, after all. The leaves are falling, and there is a slight chill to the air, though not enough to make me want a jacket or a hoodie just yet.

A small neigh came from the barn. Horses? They have a horse?

Walking a bit faster now, I made it to the barn. I gripped the wooden slide doors to the entrance and pulled. The doors slowly split away, just far enough for me to get through. When they had slid away, it creaked. Loudly. If this barn didn't look old enough, it had the creaking to prove it.

Another neigh.

I looked around the barn, and very quickly discovered a stall in the corner. The only stall. A large grey head poked out of the top half. The grey head turned towards me, then snorted and pulled the head back.

Am I that bad to look at?

I walked over to the stall and looked in, though keeping a good distance just in case the horse decided that I was 'bad' and tried to kick me. I've never been a big horse kind of girl, but I do know how to ride. Slightly. A little. Barely. But how hard can it be?

Not that I was planning on riding this new horse. No way could I even try to do that.

Very carefully, I stuck my hand into the stall, between the bars. "Hey there, girly. . . I won't hurt you. ." I cooed gently.

The grey horse eyed me cautiously. I'm pretty sure it's a girl, because of. . . Things. She threw her head up, almost bonking her forehead on the roof, before she carefully walked over to me. Her nose nudged my hand.

I smiled and rubbed her nose with three fingers. "Hey there. . "

She blew air out of her nostrils, tickling my palm. I laughed softly and rubbed her forehead between her eyes. She was wearing a faded blue halter, with a silver nameplate on the side. Etched into the metal was a name.

'Silverhoof'.

Wow. That's a coincidence. My favorite book character was named 'Silverhoof' at one point. That has to be luck or something.

At least I know my charm is working.

~

" _'cuz I won't give up on us, even if the skies get rough. I'm givin' you all my love. I'm still lookin' up_ ," I sang softly, strumming on my guitar with my fingertips. I forgot my guitar picks at home, and that is really biting me in the butt. My fingers were a bit pink at the tips, from all the practicing and messing up.

" _I don't wanna be someone who walks away so easily, I'm here to stay to make the difference that I can make_ ," I continued, doing a few chords as smoothly as I could.

The ceiling of the room made a slight creaking sound, though I ignored it as I continued to play. Hopefully, the microphone won't pick up that sound and ruin the recording.

" _And in the end you're still my friend, at least we did intend for us to work. We didn't break, we didn't burn. We had to learn how to bend without the world caving in. I had to learn what I got, and what I'm not, and who I am_."

The door was closed. Whether or not sound can get through is not known. I guess we'll find out.

" _'cuz I won't give up-_ "

"JESSICA!" Anna burst into my room.

Oh, no. She just-!

My recording was-!

"Anna!"


	5. Chapter 5

Serves me right, really. Yelling at a toddler for something she didn't mean to do is _not_ the way to go if you want to get in somebody's good graces. In fact, that is the opposite of what you should do. That was a big mistake on my part.

The recording was ruined. I could try to work a while to finish it, then make the old recording blend in with the new last part, but it would be next to impossible to get it seamless. I wasn't that good at editing to begin with. It wasn't like I posted the recordings anywhere anyway, so maybe I shouldn't worry so much.

~

My bedroom was completely silent. It was three in the morning, and all three were asleep upstairs.

My bed, a simple full size, was all cramped in the corner. If the light was on, barely any light shone down on my bed. It was perfect. If I fell asleep with the lights on, it wouldn't both me much, besides the high electric bill. In the middle of one wall, my electronic keyboard sat. A round chair, black, was pushed into it to conserve space. My red drum set was in one other corner, completely opposite of my door. My two guitars were in their stands next to my electric keyboard.

If I had to pick a favorite instrument, it would either be keyboard or acoustic guitar. I know them the best, and I can play the most with them. The rest are just backups that I record, then mash them into new tracks to make the song sound more like the original track.

That reminds me. I need to go to some hardware store to get some new tech for my laptop.

Three in the morning, but I know they won't mind me borrowing the truck. . . I have my licence, after all. It won't be illegal. I think. My license would probably need to be transferred over after a while. Maybe checking up on the laws of curfew in DC wouldn't hurt. Then again, who does that? Me. Of course.

What state is DC even considered to be in, for that matter? Maryland? Or that other one...

I sighed before leaning back on my bed. There was no way that I could go back to sleep. It wasn't like the hardware store would be open at three in the morning, even if they had what I wanted. Once I start thinking, my mind just reels and reels and I can't stop thinking, even if my life depended on it. 

Outside, I could faintly hear the barks of Brandi. She was stuck outside, being an half-outside dog and all. I don't know the weather much here, but it does rain often. At least once or twice a week, at this time of year. As far as I can tell.

The barks didn't get softer or dissipate, but instead got louder. That stirred up my suspicions. I stood up on my bed and checked out the top window, the only one outside. The bottom of the window was at ground level. Outside the window was Brandi, jumping up and down. Almost as if she was trying to climb a tree.

Her ears twitched, her head craning back and forth. Brandi's eyes showed a hint of worry mixed with fear. She loved barking at animals and such when outside, but being in a new place no doubt terrified her and made her nervous. I couldn't say that I blamed her.

Not wanting her to keep barking and wake up the entire house, I slipped on my slippers and jacket to make my way outside. I was surprised to find the back screen door wasn't locked, so I just made my way outside. There was a small light post right outside the door, lighting my path to get to her.

"Hey, girl, it's okay," I cooed to her quietly. Brandi saw me and instantly stopped barking. She pulled at the end of her leash to try to reach me, but it wasn't quite long enough.

I chuckled to myself, bending down to pat her. "You're okay. It's just a squirrel, huh? Just a little squirrel. You'll be okay. You just need to stop barking, you'll wake them all up."

_"Yes, she will."_

I whipped around, possibly giving myself whiplash in the process, to see the same man Uncle Will had been speaking to yesterday morning. What the heck was he doing up and outside at this hour?

"Shit, you scared me!"

"What are you doing up, kid?" he asked me gruffly. "Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Shouldn't you?" I shot back, stretching my back until it made a _pop_. "What are you doing up?"

He let out a breath. "This animal was alerting you. I heard it."

"Right, right," I said slowly. Where does this man even sleep? I didn't see any room labeled 'strange man that also lives with us that knows Uncle Will' anywhere. They might make him sleep in the barn. Who even knows?

He crossed his arms, looking down at me. I didn't know he was that tall. Then again, I'm not the tallest girl in the bunch. "I don't think we've formally met."

"Probably because I don't make a point to acquaint myself with strange men," I smiled sweetly. "Especially ones that are old."

He chuckled. "Old is right. Millions." He absently ran his hand through his hair, then looked to the sky. "Old as dirt. . . And older."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, totally."

"Ron."

"Hm?" I looked back up at him.

"My name is Ron, kid. I'm doing a little thing called 'introduction'. Now, you have to go and-"

"Ai, ai, ai. I get the process. I'm Jessica. Call me Jess or something, whatever you like. Jessie, Jess, Jay Jay..." I sat down and pulled Brandi into my lap. She instantly relaxed at my touch, her tongue hanging halfway out of her mouth.

Ron smirked. "You're going to get your aft wet."

My face twisted in utter confusion. What the. . .? "My _what_?"

"Your a- behind."

What is up with people messing up their words around me? They seem to do that a lot. Maybe it's just me, and they do that to everybody. Or it's just them and they do it to everybody. Who knows. I sure as heck don't.

Ron grunted and looked up at the sky. "You need to get some sleep, kid."

Sleep. That sounds fun. Maybe I should try it sometime. "I'm good."

"You have school tomorrow, and a teenager your age would require a minimum of ten hours of sleep to fully function-"

"I did just say that I was good," I squinted at him. "Why don't you go get some sleep, and I'll watch the stars, hm? Sound good, Ronny?"

He grunted. "Don't call me that. It's a degrading name."

"What exactly is 'Ron' short for anyway?"

"A code name," he replied.

"Oh, and is that classified or something?" I asked.

"Maybe."

"What's your name?" I asked again.

"Ron," he replied.

"Full name," I demanded.

"Something else," he smirked.

"You are no fun," I crossed my arms. 

"I never am. Just ask anybody," he crossed his arms, mimicking me. "Lennox would vouch for me."

"I'm sure he would. You are just a little craphead," I declared before kissing Brandi's furry head. "Isn't he, Brandi Sue? Isn't he just a lil' craphead? Coming out an scaring us!"

At hearing her name, she instantly starting to wag her tail back and forth.

Finally, I looked up to the stars. Out here, so many stars were visible. Never been one for astronomy, but I can pick out a fair few constellations. Meaning one. The little dipper. I pointed my finger at the stars, closing one eye, and traced the little dipper with my finger.

Ron eyed me in amusement. "What are you doing?"

"I'm finding the little dipper," I replied with a smile, opening my other eye and closing the one that had been opened. Then, I traced the little dipper again, in a slightly different angle. I honestly had no idea what I was doing, but it didn't seem as if Ron would know any better. Fake it till you make it.

He rolled his eyes. "That hardly seems to be working."

"And you are one to talk because. . . ?"

"I'm not. I'm just observing."

I laughed. "Oh! So that makes it okay to judge me? Observation?"

"Depends on the subject."

This guy has a weird way of talking. Aft, and just his word structure. Along with his accent. I couldn't put a name to his accent, or even a part of the world for that matter.

It took me another ten minutes to discover that it was a full moon. Yes, I'm slow. When I'm tired. Ron didn't help my case on that. The full moon looked gorgeous, and I could slowly start picking out songs to describe it in my mind.

I hummed as I tapped my fingers on my knee, finding a good beat for the song. Some words hit my mind for the song, and the chorus was almost writing itself. Almost. It won't end up very well, I can almost guarantee it.

"Bringing light to shine down, light that is shining bright. Everybody can see, how amazing could that be? When the lights go down, nothing new can be found, but discoveries are made~" I whispered quietly. It probably made no sense. Hence why I only sing the covers to songs and never write that many songs.

Ron was still there. He was freaking annoying me, questioning my every move. He didn't have anything better to do. Why bother me? Go for a drive in Uncle's truck or something. Actually, that was what I wanted to do.

I turned to Ron. "Hey, Ronny?"

"Do not-"

"Yeah, yeah, but can I drive Uncle's truck to the hardware store? I need some new stuff for my instruments and my computer. New software."

"Do they sell that at the . . Hardware store?" he asked, tilting his head. "And at this time of night?"

A pause. From me.

How the heck am I suppose to know? They did at my home town. Maybe that was 'odd' or something, but that was what they mostly sold. Maybe not at this hour, but in general. "Yes. . ."

"Liar."

"I'm guessing, not outright lying."

"Guessing?"

"Guesstimating."

". . . . What?"

"Guess estimating. Guesstimating!"

He sighed. My stupidity must have been stumping him. "Fine. We can go to this hardware store."

I smiled. "Great! Where is it?"

"You don't know?" he gave me a look that clearly said 'what the heck?'.

"No," I deadpanned. "I just moved here. And-" I stopped in my tracks. Why should I be talking to him? It's nighttime. Dark outside. Alone. He's a bunch older than me. I shouldn't be doing this. What if he's some perv that-? I'm not taking my chances.

The joints of my back hated me, for the position I had sat in, but I got up to my feet anyway. My sleeppants were all muddy, along with my slippers. Ron raised an eyebrow in my direction, but I hooked up Brandi's leash and slowly led her away.

"Where are you going?" he called as I walked to the house.

"Bed. Where I'm suppose to be."

Now, where was he going to go? To sleep? Maybe I'd ask in the morning. There's no way he'd just sleep outside like a homeless person.


	6. Chapter 6

"Jessica, wake up, school starts in less than two hours!"

You know, I never would have thought it would be my uncle waking me up for school. I always assumed it would be Sarah, or Annabelle running in and jumping on my bed. But no, it was just Uncle Will.

My back cracked a little as I sat up in bed. One look in the mirror made me frown. Did my hair get that messed up in less than two hours of sleeping? Why yes, yes it did. Stupid hair. Sometimes, shaving it all off sounds good, but I know it would just grow back and be more of a pain in the butt when it's two inches long.

Quickly, I got dressed. A simple outfit that I knew wouldn't make me stand out. Just a pair of dark skinny jeans, a purple t-shirt, and some black socks with white music notes on them. I found my grey and pink tennis shoes in my closet, and slipped them on before I grabbed my lucky music pick. As it turns out, I had packed it inside my guitar. Not the smartest place to put a pick. Hard to get it out that way.

Took me about an hour before I finally went to sleep to find it, then another half hour to get it out. It was about four when I went to sleep at last.

I pinched the pick between my pointer finger and my thumb. It was thin at the end where you strum, but thicker where you had to put your fingers. Scrawled across it in white letters are "Dream On", surrounded by red plastic. It meant a lot to me because of those two words, written by my idol. At least, that's what they had told me.

My feet made the stairs creak as I walked up them. The kitchen smelled strongly of bacon and burnt toast. Everybody was in their specific spots for eating breakfast - Uncle Will at one end, Annabelle next to him, and Sarah at the other end.

My plate had already been made, thanks to Sarah, so I simply sat down. I lifted up my fork and began eating my scrambled eggs.

Sarah sipped her coffee. "So, are you excited for school?" she smiled over at me.

I shrugged as I swallowed a bite of scrambled eggs. "I'm not sure 'excited' would be a good word to use."

Uncle Will chuckled. "That's because of nerves. Just wait, the first day won't be so bad."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? And what do you know about first days?"

"I don't. . . It's been a while for me, really."

"Exactly," I laughed softly, eating another bite. "How big are classes here?"

"Not too big," Sarah replied. "The administrator said that this class only has one hundred and fifty students, and the senior class above you is thirty kids less than that."

Bring statistics and numbers into the equation. The way to my heart. "That's not too bad." Smaller than my old school. With all my friends and everybody.

Uncle Will looked between us. "My senior class was five hundred kids."

I dropped my fork in fake surprise. "Whaaat? No!"

Sarah snorted.

Uncle Will frowned. "I'm serious!"

I took my last bite of egg, gave my bacon to Anna, then patted Uncle Will's cheek as I passed him on my way to the kitchen. "Cheer up, you old fart."

"I'm not old-!" he protested.

Sometimes, he does act more like a toddler than his own age. Maybe that's just a guy thing.

A male cleared his throat, making me turn on my heels. I bumped into Ron's chest, then took a quick step back.

"Will, are we departing soon?" Ron asked. His speech was always so weird.

Uncle Will shrugged as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "When Jess is ready, we'll go."

Ron turned to me, tilting his head down.

Being short sucks. He looked so intimidating from that angle. "Gimme ten minutes?"

"Three," he countered.

"Nine," I replied.

"Three and a half."

"Fifteen."

"Ten."

"Ha!" I grinned. I walked into the kitchen, put my plate and fork in the sink. "I'll go brush my teeth or something."

It took me a total of ten minutes to get ready. Ron sat by the front door the entire time, tapping his foot and kept glancing at the wall clock. Uncle Will kissed Sarah quickly, then kissed Annabelle's cheek before waiting with Ron.

Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean I take forever to get ready. Some people need to realize that. I only take a long time if I really care about where I'm going.

Okay, I'm not saying I don't care about school. I like school. It's just... Everything was different now. Including school.

"I'm ready," I announced, shoving my cell into my pocket. Whitney, my friend from back home, keeps texting me and blowing up my phone. It's mostly just her, and sometimes Jared and Dakota, but mostly Whitney.

Ron grunted, nodding. "Then let's go."

Uncle Will quickly agreed, and just like that, we were off. They dropped me off at the front of the high school, where I had to find the front office and get my schedule.

"Jessica Lennox," I told the secretary.

The secretary was just like any other. She was older, maybe forty or fifty, with grey showing in between her dark brown hair strands. She wore a white long sleeved shirt under a baby blue camouflage vest. "Alrighty. . . Jessica, your schedule is being printed in the room right across the hall. 203B. You may go get it, then come right back here. A student will be in here to show you around your classes." She smiled. "Alright?"

I nodded. "Okay."

The printer was jammed.

Just my luck, right?

Somebody tapped on my shoulder. I quickly turned around to see who it was.

A taller guy, about my age or a year older, smiled. Pearly whites. That’s nice. “Having problems?” he asked.

I shrugged. “I guess. The printer is jammed.”

“It’s always jammed,” he chuckled. He kicked the bottom of the printer, but it didn’t help anything. He gave the printer a death glare. “It is an insubordinate-”

“Hey, now, what did the printer do to you?” I laughed. “Calm down, it’s not going to be that big of a hassle to get a tech guy over here to fix it.”

“There would be no use of a ‘tech guy’ if I could fix it,” he replied, crossing his arms.

Okay, so he’s arrogant. “Kicking the poor printer wouldn’t qualify as ‘fixing’.”

“If it worked after I kicked it, it would very much qualify.”

“Not really.”

“Yes really-”

“ _Scott Maggalt, please report to the office with Jessica Lennox. Scott Maggalt, please report to the office with Jessica Lennox._ ” That loudspeaker will annoy me by the second week of school. I can almost guarantee it.

The guy, Scott I guess it was, sighed and looked over at me. “Apparently, it seems I need to bring you back to the office.”

“Yep,” I nodded, popping the ‘p’. For a split second, his eyes flickered. I’m not sure how you would explain it. It was like a flash of light, then suddenly, it was gone. Wow, that’s not odd at all!

Scott held out his hand for me. “Come on.”

“Um, no, I’m good,” I replied. No way was I going to hold his hand. I don’t date, and frankly, I don’t know him. That should be enough, right?

I kept my hands to my sides as I walked beside him to the front office. He seemed annoyed by every little thing. The lockers - “What is the point of these stupid contraptions?” -, the school itself - “The world wide web would suffice!” - , and even the teachers themselves. They couldn't have picked a better person to show me around.

“The best teacher you could ever have is yourself,” he declared as we walked inside the office.

The secretary looked up. She sighed before writing down my classes on a piece of notebook paper and handing it to me. “Those are all your classes for the day. It will be that way until January, for they do not change day to day. The second semester won’t begin for another ninety school days. Any questions?”

I glanced at the sheet. Advanced chemistry. Astronomy. English 12+. Trigonometry. Homeroom. Lunch. Study hall. Not all in that order.

Wait, astronomy? “Is astronomy a mandatory course?” I asked.

“Yes, it is. Many students think highly of it, in fact, so it should not be any trouble,” she smiled up at me.

“We also have it together. Second period,” Scott said.

Oh, great. Fun fun fun. “If I don’t take it, will I still be allowed to graduate next year?”

The secretary sighed once more. “Yes, you would graduate, but I can not guarantee that you will be accepted into any high league colleges.” It was easy to tell that she didn’t like me arguing with her. Her words sounded forced.

I sighed. No use in arguing anymore. It’s what my parents would have wanted. “That’s fine.”

“Good. Classes start in three minutes. You better get going. Scott here will show you around.”

Oh, the joy.

First period trigonometry was not all sunshine and roses. The teacher pretty much wants to pick a fight with me, and I mouthed off to her. Sure, I felt bad for it after, but she totally deserved it no matter what. She asked me stupid questions that she knew that I didn’t know the answer to. Like, “Where is your homework assignment?”. Lady, I don’t know! I wasn’t here!

Second period was meh. I hate the class, but love the teacher. He’s very nice. Too bad all my classes have Scott in it. He ruins everything. I don’t know why, he just is a very dis-likable person, in my view. Always trying to disapprove of everything and trying to suck up to some teachers. Maybe I don’t like him because he’s like me.

Very opinionated, very much of a suck up to teachers, and mean to people behind their backs.

Maybe that’s why I never had many friends before I turned fifteen. You have to realize your own faults sooner or later, and fix them before it's too late.


	7. Chapter 7

Once I was home, I almost decided to re-record  _ I Won't Give Up _ , but I soon decided against it. Sarah was home, along with Annabelle.

It wouldn't have been the best decision to try to make the new vocal and guitar tracks when either of them could burst in the door. If that happened, the 'new' track would be ruined. Each track line I buy is not suppose to be deleted so often, and they aren't cheap, so I have to be careful with how many I use. And maybe it would be good to spend some time with them instead of locking myself away. People say that kind of stuff's good for you.

"Hey, Sarah," I smiled as I walked in the front door. The house smelled like cookies. Chocolate chip, I believe. Whatever the type, it smelled _heavenly_.

Sarah turned around from stirring something on the stove-top, then smiled back. "Oh, hey! How was school, Jess?"

School. That sounds like something Mom would-

_ No, I'm not going to think about that. No no no. _

"School was okay, I guess. I liked most of the teachers, except one, and I already have a favorite teacher."

Like the teacher, hate the class's subject. Is that normal, or not so much?

"Who's your favorite teacher?" she grinned.

Something tells me that she's trying to take on a motherly role here. . . I internally sighed at the thought, though not showing anything bad externally. "His name is Coach Koon, or at least that's what we call him."

"Doesn't he teach astronomy?" she asked, turning back to the stove-top and stirring whatever was inside that pot. I highly doubt  _ that _ is what the amazing smell is coming from. Chocolate and amazingness and heaven and sugar and amazingness and goodness. . . Yum!

Wait, she asked a question.

"Yeah, that's what he teaches," I nodded, a sappy smile slipping onto my lips. What can I say? I'm a girl who likes that dang good smell. It's so amazing. . .

Sarah laughed. "The cookies will be done soon enough, Jess." She gestured to the oven. "Only fifteen more minutes."

My jaw dropped. "Fifteen? Whaaat? Aw. . "

In what world do cookies take fifteen minutes long to bake? And how does she live to smell that amazing smell and not want to just gobble up all that cookie dough?

Maybe she's not human. That is a total possibility.

Ha. As if.

"Fifteen minutes," she repeated, obviously trying so hard not to grin. Apparently, my hunger for those darn cookies was too much for her to handle.

**~**

_ "I will not make the same mistakes that you did," I sang softly, trying to figure out the chords for my song. My newest song. "I can not let myself cause my heart so much misery. . ." _

Pasts make us stronger. Mine will not be shared.

No burdening anyone with useless past stories.

Never.

_ "I learn the hard way to never let it get that far." _

If I hadn't been through it, would i be the same? No way. I would not be me. Me is all I can be. But I can not be me with other people.

Don't show weakness.

_ "I'm forced to fake a smile, a laugh, everday of my life." _

If life was easier on me, I would not be anything. I would be selfish and narcissistic. Thinking I deserve all that I have.

That is never going to happen. I don't deserve all this.

_ "You never thought of anyone else, you just saw your pain." _

Heartbreak. Why does it have to be so hard?

_ "I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty! Because of you, I am afraid." _

Song express such emotion that is impossible to verbally express. And some of those expressions should never be shared.

I learned that the hard way.

**~**

"Congrats, Uncle Will!" I grinned, patting my uncle on his shoulder. "Major Lennox!"

He gave me a matching grin back. Way proud of his new title. "Thanks, Jess. It only took me a year to make it up to this."

Ron grunted. "A year of hard work. Very well earned."

This was what Sarah made the cookies for. To celebrate his new title. She had known early this morning, after I got to school.

Being Major in his division. I'm not so sure what that is suppose to mean, but it's a very important title, as I can tell from his emotions. The ones he is expressing. 

"My lovie, Major Lennox." Sarah hugged Uncle Will tightly from behind. 

The way they love each other is so amazing. One can dream to have a picture perfect relationship like theirs one day.

**~**

"Brandi, dinner!" I called. Eight o'clock sharp. Always her dinnertime. I whistled, then tapped my foot as I waited for her to come trotting over.

Usually, I would hear her footsteps. The dried leaves on the ground always made it easy for me to hear if anybody was coming by.

Nothing.

"Brandi!" I whistled again. "Come on, baby girl!"

The wind whistled, though it wasn't too particularly strong. It blew a few more leaves off of the old Oak tree in the back of the lot. Nothing was too wet, but it was all dry and cool. No rain came, even though that was what the weatherman said would come tonight. They can be wrong, I guess.

I turned around, to see if she would try to sneak up on me or something, but I didn't see her. All that was there was the old barn. Surely, she would have heard me whistle if she was inside there.

Right?

The more I thought about it, the more worried I grew. Eventually, I decided to go look for her. After I grabbed pop can, I stuck a few rocks in it. I shook it, and it made a loud sound. She should be able to hear that.

I began my search, looking everywhere. The lot wasn't too terribly large, so it didn't take that long to find a spot she had to be in. Unless she ran away, which was unlikely.

"Brandi!" I shook the can, making the loud rattling noise. "Brandi, here girl! Here, girly girly!"

_ Whimper _ .

My body quickly turned to where the sound was coming from. At the sight, I dropped the can. Tears rushed to my eyes.

Oh, no. . No no no. . .

"UNCLE WILL! SARAH!" I cried, trying not to let the tears roll down my cheeks.


	8. Chapter 8

Maybe it's me. All my fault. Everything turns out to be my fault, doesn't it? Doesn't that give me the right to think that everything will be my fault?

Everything  _ bad _ , anyway. That's all that ever happens. I get a smidgen of good, then bad overwhelms the picture. It gets to be too much sometimes.

"Jessica." Sarah took her hands and gently placed them on my cheeks. "This was  _ not _ your fault, okay?"

"Okay," I replied half-heartily. She deserves more, and I knew it, but. . . I just can't give her that right now.

When three deaths happen within a  _ month _ of each other in your life, what else are you going to expect from a girl? Especially when you have no freaking clue how they happened?

It must be the absolute most frustrating thing known to mankind. If not the most, then just pretty darn high up there, if they were to rank it. A good ranking system would be good, if everything fit into some sort of category.

What am I talking about? That's a terrible idea!

"Jess, it'll be okay," Uncle Will told me gently as he drove on the highway.

We had just buried Brandi in a pet cemetery in a town called Wilshire. She had gotten shot with some bullet, and the bullet was too far inside her chest to be able to safely remove it. The vet told us that it would be more humane just to put her down.

If that's the case, then why not put me down as well? It would save my uncle so much trouble. He has enough to deal with, with Anna being the age she is. The last thing he needs is an emotional, broken, hormonal teenager.

God bless my uncle. Truly.

**_~_ **

"Nobody pack up! There's still two minutes left in class!"

_It's Friday. Last class of the day, too. Who_ wouldn't _pack up already?_

"I still don't get the point of classes," Scott muttered. He had spent the entire class period mimicking the teacher, making sly comebacks to what the teacher has said, and throwing little wadded up scraps of paper at people's backs.

I let out a breath before turning my head to face Scott. "The point is to get kids to learn."

"Well, that much is obvious. But why do we have to learn in the same room?"

"So that we can all learn the same thing at the same time, to be sure we all learn what we need. It also saves time."

"Why do we need classrooms, if we have the internet?"

"How about you Google that question?" I retorted.

"Go Bing it!" a male in my class called out, at hearing the term "Google it".

Scott chuckled. "Fair enough."

Scott really isn't that bad. He questions everything, but the things he does know about are very interesting. He's smart, and really should be in the grade above. I don't know why he isn't a senior this year. If he was, maybe he'd not question the teachers as much. He'd actually learn something.

The bell rang loudly through the school. Everybody in my class sprang up from their desks and headed for the door, but not in time.

Mrs. Hadley closed the door, tapping her foot. "How  _ rude _ . All of you. You never listen to me, you never pay attention during this class. This may be the beginning of the year, but I deserve the same amount of respect as you would give anyone."

" _ None _ ," Scott muttered under his breath. Luckily, Mrs. Hadley didn't hear him.

She continued. "All of you should be ashamed of yourselves."

From the corner of my eye, I could see Scott tapping his foot impatiently.

"Over the course of the weekend, the homework is to write a three page essay on respect. Font size should be eleven at maximum. No double spacing. You are dismissed."

**_~_ **

Three pages about respect. How fun. Right?

As soon as I got home, Uncle Will surprised me with a bird. Not another dog, since he knew I was still sore over Brandi the week previous, and not a cat, because they have two barn cats. A bird.

The bird sat on one of many perches in a red-bar bird cage. There was a little container of seed in one corner, and a water bottle - one for birds, of course - near the top. Probably near the top so that the bird doesn't poop in the water dish. Smart.

When he surprised me with a bird. . . Well. . .

" _ DAMN BITCH! _ " a weird voice squealed.

Annabelle instantly tried to copy those words, but just ended up jumbling some random sounds together. She was better at talking some days, and not so good other days. 

At the squealing, though, I walked into the living room. Uncle Will was trying to spray the bird with a water bottle sprayer, while Sarah was attempting to get Annabelle to realize that those words were 'naughty'.

Good luck, Sarah!

"What is this?" I pointed to the red bird cage and the bird.

"This is your new bird," Uncle Will replied, smiling, though forced. He was agitated at the bird, and it was so obvious. Just so obvious.

My head tilted. "Bird?"

"Yeah, we got you a bird. He can speak pretty well."

" _ DAMMIT! _ " the bird shrieked again. When I looked at the bird, he gave me a wink and waved one clawed foot at me. He almost looked like he was smiling.

This will be trouble. What on Earth have you gotten yourself into, Uncle Will? I internally shook my head in disbelief.

He's in way over his head. He has no clue how to take care of a bird!

"We got him from an old coworker of mine," Sarah explained. "He needed a loving home, since his old owner was moving to California."

"Why was she moving?" I asked curiously.

"To pursue a career in acting and singing."

Well, what were the odds. It was really sweet that they thought of me like that.

"What's his name?" I asked. "The bird's name."

"MY NAME'S ANGELO!" he cried out. His voice sounded so odd.

"Well then!" I replied in the same tone, but a little softer.

Welcome to the family, Angelo.


	9. Chapter 9

The next few days, or even weeks, were extremely uneventful. In other words, very boring. Nothing much happened. I made a few more song covers, messed up my guitar to where it won't play correctly, then played with Angelo. His cursing had stifled. To an extent. He does curse still, but it's a little less than when we first got him. I tried to speak like a very PG person when I was around him.

Angelo was okay, but he was nothing compared to Brandi. She had been my puppy. My first very own pet to care for. I taught her tricks, we cuddled whenever I was sad, and she even was learning how to play fetch- but then she died. And I don't even know how she died, or if I could have prevented it. I knew she got shot, but by who? What had happened?

Today was the day I had to babysit for Anna. Sarah and Will decided that they needed some 'adult time'. Dinner, movie, and a hotel. As if that isn't at all suspicious.

"Jess, hun, you sure you can take care of her all by yourself?" Sarah asked as she grabbed her purse. "We could always hire someone-"

"No no, I'm fine," I smiled. "It'll give me some time to get to know her better." Not exactly true, but they kinda needed to go. Uncle Will was already in their little car, waiting. They weren't taking the truck because it needed a wash.

Sarah smiled, then kissed my cheek. "Okay. The numbers are all on the fridge, and if anything happens, don't hesitate to call or text my cell."

"I won't," I replied. "You two have fun."

The smile on her face never vanished as she walked out to the little car and got inside.

I rubbed my hands together in anticipation. Anna was in her Walk-a-Tot chair, ones that roll around and she can 'walk', but she's sort of sitting still. It's hard to explain. "So, Anna, what do you want to do?"

"Paint!" she exclaimed happily.

Angelo, whose cage was on the entertainment center by the TV, caught her words.  _ "Paint!"  _ he cried out happily. That voice of his was both annoying and interesting.

But painting? They wouldn't be too happy to come home and find paint on the new hardwood floors, and even the walls. We had enough trouble cleaning up after she spilled tomato sauce on the walls. They still have some stains on them. "I'm not sure-"

"I WANT TO PAINT!"

Well, God! I guess we're painting!

~

An hour later, a knock came at the door. I looked up. It was seven by now. It wasn't Sarah or Uncle Will, they would have told me they were coming back. It wasn't Anna- she was right here. It must be-

"Hey, kid," Ron said gruffly as he walked inside. "Where are Will and Sarah?" His hint of a British accent never ceased to amuse me. He never spoke of England, but I have no idea where he's from. An interesting character, he is.

"They went out for the night," I said, keeping a close eye on Anna. I had made her strip down so she was just in her toddler diaper. Just in case she spilled something. "Dinner, a movie, then to a hotel."

He chuckled. "That last part is a bit-"

"Obvious? Maybe they're just too nervous I or you would hear them if they did it here," I grinned. My parents never made much noise, so I never knew if- That is not a great topic. Bad Jess. Think of better topics.

Ron raised his eyebrows. "You pay attention to their sounds?"

I shrugged. "I have good ears, I would have heard it."

"They don't make sounds when they are 'asleep'."

"You sound like a creeper when you say that."

He wriggled his eyebrows. "Maybe I am."

I snorted. "That's lovely. The army recruits creepers to serve our country. I feel  _ so _ safe."

"You  _ should _ feel safe," he said, kneeling down across from me and Anna. "The things we do are all to keep you civilians safe."

Ron truly wasn't that bad of a person. He didn't know many manners, he could be impatient, but then again, everybody has those bad days. It isn't just him. Being judgmental is something I need to work on. Starting with my opinion of him.


	10. Chapter 10

Annabelle was asleep by ten that night. Her usual bedtime was around eight-thirty, but kept forgetting when her bedtime was, so she ended up staying up a few hours later than she should. Maybe she'll sleep later and I won't have to wake up so early.

"Kid, what are you doing?" Ron asked, his voice as gruff as always. "What's that-"

"It's a new movie Sarah bought for Will," I replied. "The Conjuring. It's a horror movie." Watching my first horror movie at ten at night, with a weird man in the same room? This will definitely be interesting. No time like the present, right? People always preach about trying new things.

I slid the movie into the side of the TV and pressed play. The beginning trailers came on, and I walked into the kitchen to make some popcorn. "You want anything?"

"What do you have to offer?" he answered in a smart-alec tone.

"I have a can of kick your butt, some kiss mine, and Milk Duds and popcorn!"

"I'll take the last two options!"

The popcorn popped in the microwave loudly, even louder than the movie trailers. It took a few minutes before the popping subsided, and I took the steamy bag out and dumped the now popped popcorn into the bown and showered the top with Milk Duds. It's something Daddy used to do, putting Milk Duds over his popcorn at the movie theater.

Sounds of 'horror' came through the TV's speakers as I walked into the room. I sat down a foot or so away from Ron and put the bowl of popcorn between us. "How were the trailers?"

"Meaningless," he replied, staring oddly at the Milk Duds. "What are those?"

"Milk Duds," I replied, popping one into my mouth. "It's caramel covered in chocolate. It's really good, but sometimes hard to chew."

Slowly, he picked up one Milk Dud and examined it. He smelled it, brought it up to his eyes to look at it more clearly, then slowly placed it into his mouth. His pupils dilated, weirdly enough, and he ate it up real quickly.

Laughing, I asked, "Is it good?"

"It's... It's.. Perfect.." he breathed.

Let's just hope he doesn't end up getting fat off of the useless simple sugars like I did. It takes forever to get those fats off of your body.

The movie started out simple enough. A family moving into an older house, a little eerie, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Until-

"Jesus!" I screamed as the face of some horrifying woman appeared on the screen, the music pounding my eardrums. Ron bellowed in laughter at my outburst, and I slapped him. "Not cool!"

"You'll wake Anna," he chuckled.

"She sleeps like a rock, she won't hear."

The popcorn was all eaten by the middle of the movie, as they started chatting about some Annabelle doll. The name just freaked me out. Why on Earth would Sarah and Will name their precious child after that accursed doll?! Seriously?!

Obviously they haven't seen this horrifying movie.

I was almost rocking back in forth, hugging my legs close to my chest, watching the movie. It was both amazing and mentally scarring. People say its not a scary movie. Liars.

Ron turned his head to face me, and smirked when he saw my horrified expression. "You alright?"

"Nooooo, and I never will be," I muttered, then screamed as a sudden face appeared on the screen. A whole body, all bloodied up. It was horrible. "Jesus!"

He couldn't stop laughing at all my expressions and reactions. Was me being scared to death funny? Apparently so. That annoying man...

I didn't even realize when I fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

Waking up has never been my favorite thing ever. A lot of people can agree with me when I say such a 'bold' statement like that. But, when you wake up the way I did, you forget very quickly how much you hate waking up.

When I woke up the next morning, I could easily tell that I wasn't alone. At first, I thought it was Annabelle, but then I realized it wasn't. It couldn't be. The person next to me was not small. And did not smell like baby. Male. . . Not small. . .

It took all that I had not to cry out as I got to my senses. Ron and I had slept next to each other on the couch. Not only that, but he had his arms around me. The last thing I remembered of the night before was freaking out over the movie, being terrified. Maybe he had been trying to comfort me?

Even so, that is no reason for him to be holding me like this. He's, what, in his mid-twenties? I know he said he's 'millions of years' old, but I don't think anybody could live that long. Anyway, I'm a teenager. That wouldn't work in any way, or be legal. At least, that's what I think is in the law.

Ron groaned softly in his sleep. The sound made me internally chuckle. He really wasn't so bad. Just the fact that we were so different would make anything difficult.

Thinking deeper, I realized how quickly my thoughts had changed. A total one-eighty in views. First I thought it was completely revolting, but in reality, it's not. He has a fairly good personality. Looks, for him, are very attractive. If he actually liked me, there'd be no problem. There is no reason I shouldn't like him. Age shouldn't matter.

Oh. Except Uncle Will. What would he think? Probably send me away to some weird place, or kick Ron out. Uncle may not like it, to be honest.

Another soft sound tore me from my thoughts once more, but this time it wasn't from Ron. Annabelle must have been banging on her crib, and Angelo began squawking right back in response. Squawks, at least the ones coming from Angelo, weren't all horrid-sounding. It may sound pleasant, in the right tone and octave and key. Maybe if I could record it sometime, I could use it for my newest original. The words aren't finished yet, but it's coming together. Working on that song isn't my top priority.

Focus, Jess, focus.

As slowly and as carefully as I could, I untangled myself from Ron's embrace and padded upstairs. It wasn't too surprising that Ron didn't wake up from all of Angelo's noise. Must be a heavy sleeper, though since he's a soldier, I would think he would have been the opposite.

When I walked into Annabelle's room, she looked over at me with a sleepy grin, then realized that I wasn't her mommy. "Jessie, where Mommy?"

Looks like I was right. "Mommy is out of the house right now, baby girl." I slid my hands under her arms and lifted her out of the crib, gently setting her down on the ground. "Mommy and Daddy will be back later."

"Where they go?"

How do you explain this to a toddler? "They went to go see a movie, then. . . Cuddling." Because cuddling probably ended up happening at some point when they were gone. After other certain stuff happened.

Breakfast was simple enough. I made pancakes for all three of us, fed Angelo while I waited for them to get golden, and had to prevent Anna from jumping up onto Ron. It only worked in preventing her from one attempt. The second one she made was a major success.

"Oof!" Ron hissed under his breath as he felt the chubby toddler jump right onto his midsection. His eyes flickered in annoyance, then softened when he realized who it was. He kissed her hair like how Sarah often did. "Hey there, Anna."

"Hai, Ron!" she giggled and waved, almost hitting him in the face. "Jessie's making breakfast!"

"Is that so?" he laughed softly, a deep sound- okay, Jess, too much focus. "What is she making?"

"She's making pancakes, if you care so much," I grinned, leaning against the door that connected the kitchen and the living room. "But it doesn't have maple syrup. It's a special type that my mom used to make."

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrows. "What is it made out of, then?"

"Magic. You'll just have to wait and see."

The pancakes were actually simple, but I made them so that I knew for sure Anna would eat them. I took a few fresh strawberries and cut them in half, then placed them in the middle of the pancakes like noses. Next I got some chocolate chips out and made the eyes and mouth. Last, I sprinkled a little powdered sugar around the edge of the pancakes. And voila. 

It didn't take too long for Annabelle to eventually eat half of her pancake, take off all the chocolate and eat it, then inhaled the strawberry. Not literally inhaling, she just ate it so fast, she might as well have inhaled it.

"Anna, calm down, it isn't a race," I chided as I watched her eat all the 'good' stuff. That included licking her finger, running it over the powdered sugar, and sucking the white powder off her finger. And repeat.

Ron laughed. He had gotten his share ate by time time I had gotten halfway done with my pancake. The thought had been nice, to make such pancakes, but it seems like a waste now. Anna only ate the sugar.

Anna grinned at me, her lips covered with powdered sugar. "Thank yooouuu, Jessie!" she giggled. A small bit of white 'smoke' came out of her mouth. The powdered sugar. Great.

By noon, Anna's sugar high had come and gone. She was in a long nap, and I set on the 'baby monitor', the speaker in my pocket. If she woke up, I'd know. I set out to get to the barn, feed the animals and stuff. Will had taught me. Then, off to studying.

Ron accompanied me to the barn. "What are you doing?" he asked curiously.

"Feeding the horse," I answered curtly, though it was only a tease. He should have known that. "A scoop of grain, half of oats, and a handful of hay at noon, then turn-out at three."

Like before, his eyebrows raised. "That sounds specific. Did Will tell you that?"

"It's what he does, so since he's not here and won't be back until five, I have to do it."

"Okay then."

It felt sort of nice. He helped me feed all the animals, the chickens and the goat, then he left with the truck to do some sort of errand while I went in my room to get to work on my original.

My inspiration was what happened to my parents. I don't know what happened, but I now know that I am stronger because of it. And I will forever be stronger.

_ "Every tear that had to fall from my eyes... Every day I wondered how I'd get through the night.. From everything life has thrown me.. I'm grateful for every break in my heart-" _

"We're home!"

And there goes that track.


	12. Chapter 12

The desk was cold, and when I set my cheek against it to doze off a little during first period, it didn't aid me in staying awake. When I get cold, I get tired and fall asleep just like that. Probably why I have to keep my room cold when I want to go to sleep at night.

Scott was in the desk next to mine, like he was in almost every class we had together. Even with my eyes not fully open, I could tell he kept sneaking glances at me. His eyes were a bit weird looking today. Or maybe they were everyday. Or maybe it's because of my lack of sleep. It may just be a weird half-dream state that I'm in.

As the class drew on, nothing much happened. Like usual, there was a ten minute video that we got to watch towards the end. It was about what we were learning about, probably the Holocaust. We were reading this book, Diary of a Young Girl, and it was pretty much Anne Frank's diary.

Great read, honestly, and it sparked something inside me. We have it so good here in America. We can all be whatever we want to be. We can be Jewish, no religion, Christian, Atheist, Buddhist, Hinduistic... If that's a word. I know that's a religion, though. And same with jobs. We can do any sort of job we want, as long as it is within certain guidelines.

A tap on my shoulder tore me from my thoughts. "Jessica, you have to wake up." It was Scott, and he was barely whispering. The movie was almost over. I could hear the clock ticking as seconds passed.

Slowly, I swatted his hand away and rested my forehead on my arm. "No, gimme... Ten more minutes..."

Another few taps on my shoulder, then a whole hand was placed there. "Jessica. Wake up."

Oh shoot. Teacher. "I'm not sleeping, I swear, I'm just resting my eyes-"

"Get your head off the table and look forward. Please." Her voice sounded impatient, as it should have.

Wait a second... I'm in first period trig. Why the heck was I thinking about what we're reading in English class?

Seconds later, the bell rang loudly. Scott instantly shot up out of his seat to grab his stuff, then looked over at me. "You coming?" It was like he made a point to talk to me, or make rude comments every so often.

I nodded, lifting my big math textbook in my arms, along with my folder. "Yeah. Can we stop by my locker real fast, though? I am not bringing this dang book to Astronomy again." When he nodded, we made our way out of the classroom and to my locker. I stuffed the book into the back of my locker, then grabbed a new notebook from the side hanging pocket.

"Okay, done here. Now to Astronomy." The class I hate to love and love to hate. Learning 'bout space and planets and stars and the universe. How thrilling. Learning about all the things humans don't know about on a normal bases. All the possible ways the world could end and the human race would cease to exist.

Scott gave me an odd look. "It's just a fragging class, Jessica." He rolled his eyes after his statement.

Just a- wait. Fragging. What the heck is that..? "Nice language." Whatever it is, it's not probably a polite word. At least I try to refrain from cussing.

As if he tried to ignore what I said, he turned away and waved his hand. "Whatever. Come on, or we'll be late. And if we are, I'm going to blame you."

Someone would totally be on their period if they were a girl. Just saying. His emotions and just the way he acts today has been very strange.

I whistled as I got my tray for lunch. The meal was like a buffet here. You had three main options, six side dishes to choose from, a salad bar for extra, and then a buffet table for after. At the end of each group of food was a lunch lady. You swipe your card, then move on. Pretty swift. I'm still shocked my old school didn't have things like this.

The smell of freshly baked brownies and chocolate chip cookies wafted into my nose, making me almost have to close my eyes. It smelled so good. Taking deep breaths was amazing in there.

"Hey! Stop holding up the line!"

"Oh, sorry." I quickly got out of the way and made my way over to the salad bar. The brownies had nuts in them anyway. Can't eat almonds. And the cookies were chocolate chip. I'm on a diet, see, so that isn't exactly a good idea.

Scott bumped into my as I was headed over to my table. Why he does that on purpose every single dang day, I'll never know. "Watch it, blondie." Same old annoying voice of his. Such a nice tone.

Oh, how I humor myself sometimes. I'm so funny. In my  _ own _ mind.  _ Only _ in my mind, apparently. I laugh at myself internally. I'm just hilarious. Right?! "You're just a nice person, aren't you?"

"Is that sarcasm?"

"Is the sky blue?" I retorted.

He paused for the longest time, in which time I walked over to my normal booth and took a seat. After pulling out my phone charger, I plugged it into the outlet under the booth - _ do the teachers really think that the placement of a outlet will fool us? Really? Are we that stupid? I'll have to say yes, unfortunately _ \- and started to charge my phone.

Just like he always did, Scott slid into the seat across from me and set his tray down. He eyed my tray of food. "That's not a lot."

"It doesn't take much for me to get full." That was sort of a lie. It took a little bit more to get me full, more than what was on my tray at least, but as if I was going to tell him that. "Salad and milk is fine."

"Don't you need protein and such?"

Why would he care? "Yeah, but I can get protein from beans," I shrugged.

"You can get it easier from meat, like the chicken sandwich they're serving," he said, smirking.

As if I didn't know that. "I'm vegetarian." Did it really take him that long to realize this?

He frowned, looking confused. "Vegetarian...?" Slowly, his eyes flickered, then he nodded.

What. The. Heck. Is. Up. With. His. Eyes.

After I grabbed my school bad, I slung it over my shoulder and headed out the door. The school bus was waiting for me, all aglow in bright yellow. And ugly bright yellow, I might add. And right in front of it-

Wasn't that Will and Ron's truck?

"Jessica!" I could hear Uncle Will's voice calling my name. "Come on!" As I looked, I could see he was standing next to the building, waving me over.

It took me a few seconds to focus on what exactly was happening. They never come to get me. In all the five days I've been going to school, they never try to come get me. Holy crap. This was like heaven. No riding the bus today! I might as well have won the lottery.

Happily, I ran over to the truck and flung my bag through the window and into the back seat. Luckily the window was open. I'm not sure they'd be excited about me breaking the window just to put my bag inside.

Will chuckled as he got in the front seat. I got in shotgun, and buckled up as he adjusted the radio. It had been on some old country station. He hates old country. Go figure. Ron probably drove the truck before he did.

"So, why did you come pick me up?" I asked, leaning back in my seat after he settled for an 80s rock and roll station.

He looked over at me, then focused on the road. "Aw, can't I just want to come get my niece from school every once and a while?" he teased, trying to sound sad.

I laughed. "Uncle Will, you haven't done this before."

"You've only been at this school a week!"

"... True."

Wow, this conversation went all the way to Timbuktu and back to Washington.

"Anyway. Sarah wanted to try this new hairstyle on you. Since her hair isn't exactly easy to manage, and you have.. Nice hair..."

"Thanks...?"

"Yeah, I think that's what she said to tell you."

My uncle. Such a joker. I could have gotten my joking side from Dad's side of the family.

And just like that, a wave of depression hit me. Dad isn't here anymore. And he never will be again.

This will be a long night...


	13. Chapter 13

Sarah wanted to have me home sooner than the bus could bring me, and the reason was a bit odd. She wanted to work with my hair. I mean, yeah, she's going to this online beauty school, but I didn't think she was that far into it. I guess it's not too bad. She can't exactly shave my head.

At least, I don't think she would. She's not that mean, I don't think. Pretty sure.

I hope.

When I walked in the door, Sarah had a professional-looking salon chair in the middle of the kitchen floor, and a whole basket of hair stuff. Hairspray, mousse, straightener, a bunch of different combs, and the list goes on and on.

Sarah shot me a grin, then gestured for me to sit down. "Go on, hon."

Was she really going to make my hair look different? I mean, I love it the way it is now! It's so soft and perfect length and curly and light-

Before I could protest, she had gotten me in the chair and had swung it to face the window. Will was looking at me, and gave me a goofy smile with a thumbs up. He mouthed 'good luck'.

Oh, great, this will end well.

Sarah sprayed my hair with water, then combed through it gently. "So how was school today, Jess?"

I shrugged, though tried not to move too much. "It was okay, I guess."

"Just okay?"

"Yeah. You know that one guy at school I told you about?" I asked.

"That Scott guy?"

"Yep, him. He is very.. Clingy. And he says weird things." That's an understatement.

Sarah hummed, still combing my hair, then changed the part to a deep side one. "Maybe he's just special needs." The comb was almost massaging my scalp. After school, it felt so nice...

"It's not that," I said. "He's not stupid, he's really smart, and he looks completely normal."

Sarah chuckled. "That's what I'm saying. Not all special needs kids look weird or are not smart."

Great, now I'm placing people into stereotypes. What a great person I am. What's next, thinking that all people of different races are bad? Gosh, that'd be horrible! I swear, I'm not that bad. "I still don't think he's special needs."

"Mhmmm... Alright, hon. Now, what do you want me to do with your hair?"

"Truthfully?" I laughed awkwardly. "Nothing." I love my hair. Don't change eet!

"I need to have something to send to my professor," she sighed. "A before and after. And there needs to be a lot of difference. So, I'll give you a few options."

I nodded, only because she wasn't currently messing with my hair. My head felt cold now, with the wet hair. "Okay, what are my options?"

She make a 'tsk' sound with her tongue, then left the room quickly. I peered out the window and saw that Ron was talking with Will. I smiled internally, then Sarah came in and plopped a book in my lap. "This is the style book that I could do. Meaning I could do most all of the styles in here."

My fingers traced the punkish design on the front. Not exactly what I have in mind. I don't exactly think I could pull off a black boycut style. I flipped through a few pages.

It was all what I thought it would be. A little bit of everything, but nothing too extremely difficult to do. Must be a beginners book. The first third of the book was men, so I flipped right thorugh that. The next two thirds were split into four parts- women short, women medium, women long, and kids. The kids were in the back, and that didn't interest me in the slightest. I didn't even care to look through those.

The first style I saw was one in the medium length section for women. It was pretty, no abnormal colorings, and just a bit shorter than my hair right now. It could work.

When I brought the picture up to Sarah, she shook her head. "It needs to be more different, sweetie."

I sighed. "Great."

"How about trying the short styles?"

Really now? "I'll look like a guy, though!" My face isn't the most feminine at the moment. I never wear makeup, besides mascara here and there.

Sarah smiled. "Okay then. I'll make you a deal. I'll pick the style, and if you go to school tomorrow and they think you're a guy, I'll give you a hundred dollars."

"Bribery? Really?"

"Do we have a deal or not?" she grinned.

Hm. Messed up hair, but enough money to buy a new mic... Hm. "Deal."

Sarah laughed, then got her scissors out. "Take your glasses off, hon. I don't want you to even peek before it's done!"

I did as I was told, then waited as she got my hair damp even more. Her scissors sliced right through my hair, making a shearing sound right next to my ear. It almost hurt, the sound, but thankfully I was semi-used to it. My old mic was making that sort of sound all the time lately.

Hence why I needed the new mic. Am I really hoping that she'll do it badly just so that I can get the money she promised?

Wow, I'm terrible.

It took her about fifteen minutes to cut my hair. I could feel a slight draft on my neck, a sure sign of how short it was. And with how my hair sometimes curls up, it'll be even shorter. I pray that it'll look okay by the time she's done.

Will walked in when Sarah got out the coloring stuff. A tube of color, a small bowl, and a brush, tinfoil. When he saw me, he laughed. "Wow. Are we going to get a radio signal now?"

"Haha, very funny, Uncle Will," I rolled my almost blind eyes. Without my glasses, I might as well be blind. "She should do you next!"

"Maybe I could get another mullet!" he sighed dreamily, leaning against the counter.

I made a face. "You were that sort of guy? Seriously?"

"Hey, what's wrong with a mullet?" he laughed.

"A better question would be 'what  _ isn't _ wrong with a mullet?'," I retorted. "I mean, did you ever see pictures of my dad? It looked awful!" Yes, Daddy used to have a mullet. It was terrible. He even had one when I was five, and I can remember it vaguely. It wasn't hot, I'll tell you that much.

Sarah pretended to kick Will kinda... There. Well then. "Stop harrassing your niece, William."

He held his hands up. "Oh, I'm  _ so sorry! _ " He was laughing, obvously not sorry.

"You're so mean!" she gasped in fake shock.

This went on for another what, five minutes? I was about throwing up. They were kinda suckish at acting. No offence to them. And I'm not saying that I'm perfect at acting, either. Just... Yeah. Not like them. At all.

Hopefully. If I was, then I'd be... Wow. Not very... Good....

Sarah threw a comb at Will, who caught it quickly and just threw it out the window. It made me laugh to see them like this, and it seemed that they forgot I was there. Until-

"Oh my God, I have to hurry!" Sarah exclaimed, getting the brush, it was like a paint brush, and brushing it into the bowl of the weird mixture. The color, I couldn't tell, but it was not a natural color. She got my hair parted in different, well, parts, and started putting the brush through my hair, coating it with the weird mixture.

It took her about ten more minutes to get that done, and she hadn't colored all of my hair. Thank Goodness. If it's a weird color, like I think it is, I have no idea if they'll let me try out for the high school show choir here. They had specifications back in my old school, and I have no doubt it is close to the same here.

Sarah flipped through a magazine, some fashion one, after she set the timer on my hair. Fifteen minutes. I couldn't get out of my chair or do anything, so I just looked out the window.

Holy Jesus.

Will was out there, along with Ron.

Both were shirtless.

And lifting hay bales.

Neither of them were scrawney at all. Or pasty.

Holy.

Jesus.

Sarah must have seen my expression, and laughed. "Pretty good eye candy, huh?"

I blushed. Was it that obvious that I was looking? "Yeah, I guess." And one was related to me. That's just fantastic. At least it's not him that I'm attracted to.

Too bad the one I like is older and would never like someone like me.

"They both have some pretty big muscles there, hm?" she teased.

Instead of looking at her, to avoid her eyes I was looking at the timer. Five minutes. Five minutes and fifty nine seconds. Fifty eight. Fifty seven. "Yeah, big muscles."

"And Ron has that nice eight pack."

"Ye- Wait,  _ eight _ ?" I gaped at her. I thought it only went up to a six pack...!

What?!

Sarah grinned widely at me. She seemed to be grinning at me a lot. "Yeah, an eight pack. Can't you see?"

I craned my neck up to see him, and there he was. Eight pack, slightly glistening with sweat, and his hair was messed up a bit. Yes, cliche, but omigawsh. He's hot.

And that, ladies and gents, is why he would never like me. He's hot. I'm not.

Wow, I can rhyme.

I must have been looking for a while, because before I knew it, the timer started beeping. Sarah grinned as she walked over to me. "Now we're almost done."

She took all the foil out of my hair, rinsed my hair out. The sink was a bit blue looking when she was done rinsing. Was my hair... Blue? Just a guess. Or purple streaks. One of the two. Or even black, but that wasn't likely.

Sarah blow dried my hair, then spent a good amount of time styling it. By the time she was done, it was getting dark outside. She finally handed me a mirror. "Your new look."

Wow.

[hair](http://www.short-haircut.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Short-blonde-and-purple.jpg)


	14. Chapter 14

There's a saying for everything. Overeating? 'Eat to live, don't live to eat'. Of course, the man who said that didn't even follow his own rule. Nice job, Ben Franklin.

Overeating wasn't my problem, though. I'm not exactly what you'd call 'overweight', but I'm not the skinniest girl. Pretty average, actually, when it came to looks. Except for the fact that my hair was no longer a full natural color and cut. It’s safe to say that I stood out more than I appreciated at school.

During first passing period, after I walked by the girls’ bathroom, could hear some girls burst into giggles and started whispering to each other. Just like I always did, I ducked my head a little and passed by them silently. They didn’t need any satisfaction of me not liking them giggling and whispering about me. How did I know it was about me?

It’s not rocket science. Different means bad, in today’s society.

Scott saw me during first period, like he always did, and gave me the weirdest look. The look was the one people give other people when they’re about to say ‘are you kidding me’, and not in a good way. “What happened to you?”

I scoffed. Did he really think it looked that bad? Aunt Sarah owes me that money. “I got a new haircut and streaks. Do you have a problem?”

“It’s so short. Are you positive you like it?”

“Well, duh, or else I wouldn’t have gotten it,” I crossed my arms, rolling my eyes. Okay, so I didn’t it out. But that doesn’t mean I had to hate it. It actually looked good with my face, I think. It may just be me being full of myself.

Scott gave me another weird look, then rolled his eyes. They did that weird thing again. Like they changed color for a split second, then it went right back to the normal color. Brown. It was so quick, I couldn’t tell what color it had changed to. Darker color, more bold I think.

Homeroom was a bit interesting that day. After the normal morning announcements, a large poster was set on the ledge of the white board. The teacher tapped on it with her stick, then smiled. “Now, as most of you know, the Winter Dance is coming up.”

Right after speaking those words, a herd of girls started jabbering away. It was suppose to be a formal dance, so I assumed they were talking about their dresses or shoes or something. I mean, that sort of thing is okay, but it’s not my thing.

The teacher cleared her throat. “As I was saying. The dance will be this Friday, so three days from now. It will be the first formal of the year. The DJ has been booked, and the prices of drinks and snacks will be posted on the office door near the Senior Lounge. Any questions?”

“Can we bring guys from out of the district?” a girl asked, crossing her arms.

Teacher lady scoffed. “If you turn in a permission slip, yes. If not? No. Any other questions?”

“Will there be weed?”

“Absolutely not!”

The guy who had asked about the weed laughed. “Aw, damn. Then I’m definitely not going.” He shoved his hands into his pockets

She gave him an odd look, then pointed to the door. “Go to the office, Jason. Now.”

‘Jason’ gave her a cheeky grin before he slid out of his seat and left the room. The whole class snickered as he slammed the door, then flipped her off through the window beside the door.

Scott leaned over to me. “Hey, Jess.”

I tore myself out of my thoughts and looked over at him. “Hm?”

“Want to go to the dance with me?”

What. The. WHAT?!

It took me a few long moments to process what he had just asked me. To the dance. I’ve been at this school for not very long. Why me? I’m not attractive. I’m not really pretty. I’m not what guys like, at least not at this age. What the heck does he see in me?

Maybe I’m just blind or something.

“Um…”

What a lame response. ‘Um.’ That won’t get me anywhere.

He rolled his eyes. “Look, I want to go to the dance with you really bad. Go with me?”

“I’ll…. Um…. Think about it…?” That was finally all I could manage. Yes, he’s cute and all, but I don’t think I like him that much in that way. No, I like someone else, but he’s probably not interested. Obviously.

We ended up exchanging phone numbers, so I could text him my answer later. I wrote on my hand ‘Text Scott later’, hoping to remember.

“Jess, could you pull the cake out of the oven? I forgot it was in!” Sarah called from the livingroom. The TV was on, and it was on her favorite fitness channel. She was working on doing sit-ups and push-ups the right way. To tell you the truth, I thought there only was a right way, but you have to have your back a certain way, aparently.

After replying “Okay!”, I got into the kitchen and pulled out the pound cake. It was like a mix of cheese cake and vanilla pound cake. It was super good, even the outside parts were. It was more like bread than cake really. Will’s favorite.

I had to use a hot pad to get the pan out, and even though it was thick, my hands still got a little burnt. I’ll probably tell Sarah later to get new hot pad holders. It smelled heavenly. If heaven had a smell, this would be it.

Sarah walked in a few minutes later and smiled. “It turned out nice!”

I nodded, smiling back happily. “Smells fantastic. You’re a good baker.”

She held up a box. It was labeled ‘pound cake’. “Mhm. Yep. It was all me!” she grinned.

I laughed, shaking my head. “I knew it! So good, it was put in a box and sold around the world! But it’s weird, I didn’t know you went by the name Betty Crocker.”

“Will doesn’t know! Shhh!” she held a finger up to her lips, though it was obvious she was trying not to laugh at herself.

“You’re cheating on him with a cake!”

“Oh, yes!”

We both doubled over in laughter. It took us a few minutes to finally stop laughing at ourselves, and she frowned as my phone lit up. The name of the messager was Scott.

“Who’s Scott?” she asked, walking over to the counter to look at my phone.

I shrugged, reaching over to grab my phone. “He’s that guy at school that keeps talking to me. He asked me to the school dance.”

“Oh?” she raised her eyebrows. “And did you say yes?”

“I said I didn’t know and that I’d get back to him,” I laughed softly, clicking on the message.

**_Scott- So…? What’s your answer?_ **

Letting out a soft breath, I looked over at Sarah. “What should I do? Say yes, or…?”

She shrugged. “Do whatever you want to do. Do you like this boy?”

No, not really. “I guess…” I hope that didn’t sound bad. It probably did.

“Then give the guy a chance,” she smiled. “Who knows? Maybe it’ll end up being a good thing. It was for Will and I.”

That sparked my attention. I didn’t really know how her and Will got together. I knew they eventually got together, duh, but not how. “How did you two get together, exactly?”

Sarah got this sappy, goofy smile on her face. “It was back in Senior year. He was one of the football players, and I was the head cheerleader. He finally got up the balls to ask me out to the dance. I didn’t like him very much the, but I slowly warmed up and.. The rest is history.” All while explaining, the smile never left her face.

“You two are a good pair,” I said softly. They fit each other perfectly. They had their disagreements, but they always made up and were happy people.

All I want is to eventually have the same thing. Maybe with Ron, maybe it’ll be Scott instead.

But is it really that bad that I hope it’ll be Ron?

I finally answered Scott.

_ Jessica- I’ll go to the dance with you. _


	15. Chapter 15

I said yes. I can’t believe I said yes. If it wasn’t for him asking, I would have no intention to go to this dance. The school isn’t the greatest place ever, the students aren’t all fun, so why would a school dance be any different? It made no sense.

But either way, I had said yes.

Dinner that evening was pretty interesting. Sarah got that pound cake all cut up, and the house smelled like its deliciousness. She ended up making meatloaf for dinner, to my disgust. Of course I’ll eat it, but meatloaf isn’t my cup of tea. French vanilla tea is my cup of tea, with extra sugar. Duh.

So now the house smelled like a mix of the meatloaf and the pound cake. I must say, it smelled better with just the pound cake smell. It had smelled so good. That cake smell that just smelled like the best stuff on Earth… Not Snapple ‘best stuff on Earth’ stuff, but the actual best stuff on Earth. Or off Earth, I haven’t made up my mind.

“Jessicaaaaa, could you get Anna real quick? Her nap should be done,” Sarah called, stirring a glob of meat and bread crumbs in a bowl. How people find that delicious is just weird. I mean, it’s meat. With bread inside. And it just makes you gag. What even?

Instead of replying the exact thoughts that were parading my mind, I simply nodded and walked up the stairs to get Anna. When I walked in her room, she was on her floor, covered in some sort of liquid.

Oh no.

“Anna,” I said in an exasperated voice, kneeling down next to her. Though I was careful not to get too extremely close. She smelled deathly of urine. She peed all over herself. “I thought you were potty trained?”

Anna sniffled and shook her head. “I sorry, Jessie… I didn’t mean to…” 

Her floor had a large damp spot now that would without a doubt have an odor for a while. Luckily her floor wasn’t white to begin with. But it was still carpet. Maybe it would have been easier if it had been wood. Then again, wouldn’t the wood have soaked up all that urine and…?

Okay, stop thinking those nasty thoughts. Pee. Gross.

Gently, I picked her up and took her into the bathroom. After setting her down in the tub, I took her clothes off and put them in the hamper. The water was turned on warm, and soon it filled the tub, smelling like vanilla and strawberries and cherries.

Wait a minute. I put my bath soap in her bath. Dangit.

“Hey, Anna, can you just wait right there for a second?” I asked her gently, taking the large green cup from the side of the tub and pouring water over her head. “Can I leave you for a quick second to tell your mommy what happened? Can you sit still in the water?”

She nodded eagerly. “Yes!”

I smiled before taking her damp clothes and walking back down the stairs. On my way down, I passed by Ron and Will. Ron made the most disgusted face possible when he smelled what was in my hands.

“What are you holding?” he asked, his voice slathered with disgust.

“Annabelle wet the bed. Or, the floor actually. She got out of bed and wet herself on the floor,” I replied, smirking. “Just like I heard her father used to do when he was a toddler.”

Will scoffed. “I did no such thing!”

“William, dear, stop arguing with the facts!” Sarah laughed from the kitchen, then leaned against the doorway leading to the livingroom, where we all were. Except Anna and Sarah, of course.

“... Oh! Sarah, since Anna peed herself, I’m going to give her a bath before dinner. Is that alright?”

“Sure.”

When I walked back upstairs to bathe Anna, I prayed that she hadn’t done anything in the tub. Like put her head in the water and drowned. It doesn’t take much at all in order for kids like her to do that. Just a few seconds, and they can be gone. I hope that doesn’t happen to her.

After walking into the bathroom, I let out a sigh of relief. She was just sitting there in the water, covered in bubbles. A bubble beard, to be exact. It was kinda cute.

I smiled as I put some more bubbles on her bubble beard. “Hey Anna-Banana.”

She squeaked and swatted at my hand furiously. “Nu! I’m makin’ a bubble beard!”

As if that wasn’t obvious enough. Not like the child has bubbles on her chin on purpose. Oh, how I make myself laugh.

Bathing a rather rowdy toddler isn't as fun as they make it out to be. You get more water on yourself than the toddler gets, and they're the ones in the tub.

Anna kept splashing, pounding her chubby palms into the water, making water go everywhere. It took fifteen minutes to just get her cleaned. That's a bit much, isn't it?

When I got her all dressed, in pajamas now, she ran down the stairs as fast as she could, into Will's arms.

Must be nice. To have a father who's home most of the time, not gone on weird missions for the CIA. One who wants to hold you and wants to call you his baby.

That's something I'll never have again.


	16. Chapter 16

The winter formal. Macy’s had a little selection of dresses made specifically for the formals in the area. Lucky for us, there was a little coupon in the bin that had my school’s name on it. It was a twenty five percent off coupon, then it had a section made specifically for our school when it came to dresses just so we knew what the style was.

“Jess, what about this one?” Sarah asked, holding up a dress. It was red with no straps, and beads all along the torso. Tight near the chest area and the stomach, then it puffed out as it went to the floor. With my height, it would probably drag.

Yep, that’s totally what I want. A beautiful dress that will end up getting scuff marks from dragging along the floor.

“No thanks, it’s too long,” I replied, going through the different hangars in a different section of dresses. 

“How about this dress?” A girl who has this high pitched voice caught my attention. I looked over my shoulder to see this short girl with tattoo’s on her shoulders while holding a black dress with white sparkles and two red stripes on the shoulder straps. “Do you like dark clothing?”

I simply shrugged. “Dark clothing is okay. I’m not exactly one that’s picky or anything. Anything works.”

“Like a gray dress with black sleeves?” The high pitched girl asks, again. 

“I guess it just depends on what it looks like on me,” I replied.

The girl took out a purple dress with a black torso. “Would you like to try this one on?”

I smiled. It looked pretty enough. “Yeah, that one’s pretty.” 

Then the girl with that ridiculous high pitch voice shoved me into dressing room. As if I wasn’t going to eventually go in there anyway.

I do have legs, I’m pretty sure.

I unzipped the back of the dress, then undressed and shimmied into the new purple dress. It zipped up at my side, then I gazed at myself in the mirror.

I must admit, it looked nice. Slimming on my figure, not too showy in the bad areas of my body, and showy in the better areas that I had. I turned around to view my backside (God, I’m such a girl), and smiled. It was perfect. Perfect dress for the occasion.

“Jess, what does it look like?” Sarah called from outside the room. I could almost picture her tapping her foot as she waited for me to come out. She probably was. “After this, we need to get shoes and jewelry too!”

Oh yay, more shopping with money I don’t have. I hope she doesn’t want to pay for all of it.

When we got home that night, I took the dress and put it into my closet. It was inside one of those dress bag thingies, and then the bag that held my new shoes and accessories was hooked on the hangar. Sarah thought it was best to buy extra things to add to myself for the night. “Just in case you feel like it”, she had said.

After I closed my closet door, I sat down at the edge of my bed. My guitar was almost collecting dust in the corner. My keyboard was even worse. My microphone was all alone in the box it came in. Maybe I should just try to learn a new cover…

But what song would work? I’ve done a lot of country lately, some pop. There are tons of songs to choose from, but I don’t know what song would sound good with female alto vocals and keyboard and acoustic guitar.

Then again, there’s that one song. That one that has the King Kong thing. Yes, that makes total sense.

I opened up my laptop and typed in some lyrics to google. ‘You could be the greatest, you could be the best, you can be the King Kong bangin’ on his chest’ and pressed enter. It came up with the song I was looking for.

Hall of Fame.

Of course the name was easy. I could’ve guessed that. I clicked on the music video it showed me. So it featured this Will I Am guy. Heard of him.

The music video started out a bit confusing, with people talking and then a deaf girl that used sign language. I kept watching it, and couldn’t help getting totally entranced in the music and the meaning.

By the time the music video was done, I had a whole new inspiration. I got out my keyboard and blank music staff notebook and started to write in notes. I make all my music my own- same lyrics, same sort of beat, but it’s always changed up a little to fit my specific style.

Another quarter note there, a half note, whole note, two rests, eighth rest, and an hour later, I had the keyboard part done. I played around with it, with all the harmonies and whatnot, and found out I had some clashings.

So redo that part, replay it. Done.

“You could be the greatest, you can be the best, you could be the King Kong bangin’ on his chest,” I murmured under my breath, running my fingers over the keys to find the right tune I was looking for. It fit in most spots. “You could beat the world, you could beat the war, you could talk to God, go bangin’ on his door.”

After going through the rest of that song, I smiled. The keyboard part was completely done, as were the vocals. Now I just need the guitar part done and maybe drums. Drums will be easy.

“Jessica!” I could hear Sarah call from downstairs. “Come on, it’s time for lunch!”

Okay, time for food. Then I’ll work on the guitar part.

A half a week later, and it was almost time for the dance. Sarah was helping me get my hair done, even though I don’t have much hair to get done really, and with makeup and stuff. I was in panty hose and spanks (why, Lord, why?) and a tank top. That’s it. And she was helping me get ready.

“This will really bring out the blue in your eyes,” she mumbled, running an eyeshadow brush over my eyes. Her comments were always like that. ‘Oooh, this’ll look good!’ or ‘This will make *so and so* pop out really well!’. She’ll be great with Anna when she’s a teenager.

“Oh really? That’s great,” I replied, sounding purposefully unenthusiastic.

She flicked the side of my head. “Okay,  _ mouth _ .”

“I do have one, thank you for noticing!” I grinned, making her chuckle.

“Shh, I’m trying to work here,” Sarah said again, probably for the third time. Or hundredth, I really don’t keep track anymore. “So is he coming to pick you up?”

I nodded, then laughed as she shot me the worst glare she could conjure up. “Yes, he’s coming later. Did you know he has a car?”

She laughed. “Most boys have cars, Jess.”

“Well yeah, but he has this silver one. Like a sports car,” I said. “It has red headlights. It’s really cool.”

She paused, then continued working. “Red headlights…?”

“Yeah, a bit weird, but it really looks nice with the car. Makes it look better, I think.”

Sarah just continued to work on my makeup. In ten minutes she was done, and gave me a handheld mirror. I looked at myself and almost froze.

“... You should do my makeup every day.”

“I thought you’d like it,” she grinned proudly, crossing her arms. “I used this new light foundation that won’t hurt your pores, and this concealer for the blemishes-” thanks “- and the eyeshadow is my favorite. Purple. It goes with your dress, and makes your blue eyes pop. You like?”

I grinned. “I love it.”

As we were talking, Uncle Will walked into the room. He saw us and almost passed us when he saw me. And froze. “.. Jessica…?”

I grinned brighter. He was shocked. I hope it’s a good sort of shock. “Yes?”

“You look…”

“Stunning? Thanks to meee!” Sarah laughed, wrapping her arms around Uncle Will and kissing him.

That’s when the doorbell rang. Scott.

Crap, I don’t even have my dress on!

“I’ll get it, you go get dressed and hurry up!” Sarah told me quickly as she let Will go, then headed for the door.

I hurried upstairs to get my dress on. I took off my tank top and stepped into my dress, then zipped up the side zipper. I scrunched my hair, since Sarah had decided to make it all wavy like it wanted to be, and stepped into my shoes. Stupid high heels. I almost twisted my ankle right then and there.

Carefully, I walked down the stairs, putting my necklace on. My earrings were already in. I always wore my white studded music note earrings, and lucky for me they matched my dress. The dress went down to my ankles, and so my legs were all warm. Good thing, too, because it’s about fifteen degrees outside.

At the foot of the stairs was Scott. He was wearing a black suit with a purple tie. Matching my dress color.

Maybe this dance won’t be so bad after all.

The dance was alright. It was almost over, and we were all still dancing away. The girls mostly all took their shoes off and danced in bare feet, or some even brought socks just because they knew they were gonna get out of their shoes. I was the dumb one who didn’t bring socks.

“Why do they take off their shoes?”

“Try being a girl and getting blisters on your feet just because of stupid shoes made so you can look stylish.”

“... Ah.”

Scott acted okay, until the end of the dance. His eyes kept looking weird, and it was starting to freak me out. They almost glowed in the darkness of the gym, where the dance was being held. He never once got sweaty or anything, and that was something I found not normal.

After a bit, he took me outside, holding my hand.

Maybe I can learn to like him. It wouldn’t be so bad…

“Jessica,” he said softly, swinging our hands a bit as we walked. “I haven’t known you for that long… And you don’t really know me… But I still know I have to ask you something.”

Oh shiz. “Yes…?”

A wide grin appeared on his lips, then he pushed me against the wall harshly, making my back crack loudly. His eyes turned dark red, and his skin looked like it was glowing. “What do you know about the Autobots’ whereabouts?” he asked, growling.

“W-What’s an Autobot?” I choked out, trying to control myself. It was all happening so fast. I didn’t know what to do. He was pressing me against a wall. What was going on?

“An Autobot!” he snarled, pressing his body up against mine. “Where are they?!” His voice so loud hurt my ears, but I didn’t hear anybody else near. There was nobody near here. We were all alone. “Where are they?!”

“I-I don’t know…!”

“What about Ironhide?! Where is he?!”

What the… What’s an Ironhide? “I don’t know!”

He growled in frustration, then raised his hand to my face. “You know where he is. And you’ve been living with him for a month. You know exactly who he is.”

What-

My heart was almost pounding out of my chest. I couldn’t think straight. No doubt I was sweating.

This wasn’t a good night after all…

Scott grabbed my wrist and held it tightly as he dragged me over to his car. He shoved me inside, then locked the door. He gave me a creepy grin before his body just.. Disappeared.

That’s when my world went dark.


	17. Chapter 17

The sound I woke up to was ear-piercing. It was like the sound of a jet engine, but it couldn’t be. I was just heading home from the dance.

Wait. The dance. Scott.

Scott was… He was not… It’s all so messed up now.

I groaned and tried to sit up, only to find that I was being held down by tightly locked seat-belts. After looking around, it was clear where I was. A jet of some sort, but there was no driver in the pilot’s seat. Driver. Ha, as if that’s a thing. It’s called a pilot. How often I humor myself.

“Awake, I see,” a male voice sneered. I looked around feverishly, then saw I was the only one in the jet. “Don’t bother, human. You are inside me.”

Inside what, exactly? A jet? 

“All will be explained soon. Or not. You may not be of as much use to us as we first thought. We might just choose to rid ourselves of you before you can cause any damage.” The voice came out of the speakers, so loud it almost hurt my ears even more than just the jet noise.

I opened my mouth to speak, but no sound came out. My eyes could barely open, actually, and it kinda frightened me. Blood pressure rising. Then I heard something else, almost like a gas leak, like when you pop a balloon and it slowly deflates.

And I was out again.

A very hard jerk wracked my body against the belts, making my eyes shoot open. Still inside the jet, my ears still ringing with the engine noises, but it all just stopped. Just like that, in a split second, it was all over. Then a sudden shift in some metal form around me. I closed my eyes, just asking, praying to God, that I would be killed quickly.

But no, I wasn’t squashed by the shifting metal. Instead I was transferred somehow into a large metal hand, silver metal that could be matched with the exterior of Scott’s car.

Scott. Scott’s car. He has something to do with this. C’mon, Jess, think… What happened before I blacked out…

A voice had talked to me in the jet. Alright. A voice, sounding like a metallic version of Scott’s voice, and it was coming out of the speaker. It was saying how I was going to be used for some sort of information gathering, I think, or I would be disposed of. That doesn’t exactly sound fun.

Large red eyes looked down at me. The light was so bright, I had to squint. “Filthy fleshling,” the metallic Scott’s voice muttered in disgust.

“W-What…?” I asked, almost scared that I would get thrown or something if I said something that wasn’t approved of. Or if I spoke without permission.

A metal mouth moved on the human-like face of the robotic thingy as it spoke. Okay robotic beings. Not completely unheard of. Something in Mission City happened with that a few years ago. Maybe rumors are true-

Robotic beings. Not humanoid. Not from Earth. Oh shit. Alien. Aliens exist. They aren’t fake and green and stupid like everyone says they are. They’re real, and they can speak English, and they have the power to kill.

SHIT.

Back to the metal mouth that belongs to the alien that will probably end up killing me.

“Stop speaking, fleshling, it isn’t becoming to stammer,” he snarled. He never had a nice tone, always a bark or a growl or a snarl. Like a dog. Maybe these guys are like dogs in some way.

No longer held in my belts, I looked down at the ground. I was in a metal hand, held about thirty feet above the ground. Thirty feet. Three stories. Holy shiz. That’s… That’s not exactly good if I fall…

“I won’t drop you, human,” he chuckled, though it wasn’t the lighthearted chuckle I was used to from my Uncle or from Ron. “You would be no use to us then.”

“What.. What use am I to you…?” I asked, trying not to stammer or stutter. Might as well make myself on his good side, whoever he is.

The robot being with red eyes glared down at me. “I will use you to find information of the Autobot base. You were… Less than cooperative at the ‘school dance’ occasion. This way, I can have a better means of retrieving the information. Whether it be with or without force. Depends on how well you cooperate.”

That was extremely blunt. Gee. At least my captor isn’t some guy who lurks in corners and keeps half his thoughts to himself. This guy seems like he speaks his mind, no matter how dumb he is.

“So.. Are you… Scott…?”

“That was my human designation. Rather unintelligent, but it worked for what it was worth, hm?”

I could only nod at his question. This was all scrambling around in my brain, as if trying to get me to figure every single thing out at once without knowing information. But with all that I do know at this point, is there a way to figure out what exactly I’m in?

I’m not even sure my thoughts make sense anymore, actually. I hope I’m not going crazy, I’ve only been stolen for about…. Well, I don’t even know. That’s lovely.

The red-eyed robot gave me another glare, then exhaled. I could tell it was an exhale because of a burst of air coming out of some vent on its face. “In case you are wondering, human, the designation is Starscream.”

I snickered. “Ice cream?”

He growled, not exactly a pleasant sound to hit my eardrums. “Star. Scream. Scream, as in what you will be doing if you continue to test my  _ patience _ !”

Flinching at his tone, I leaned down at bit, as if to look smaller and less like a target. “Yes sir…” Manners might come in handy at this point.

Starscream, as I believe he said his name was, gave me yet another glare before he unlocked a large door. He stepped inside, then tossed me against the wall. I grunted as my back hit the wall, then wrapped my arms around myself to brace the fall to the ground. As I hit the ground, I could almost feel a snap. One of my bones, probably. My first broken bone, done by a giant robot.

He slammed the door shut, locking it into place. “Farewell. I will speak to you in the ante meridiem.”

Ante meridiem. What the- oh wait. Initials. AM. I think. I always knew it stood for something.

I heard his footsteps slowly fade away, and soon I thought he left completely when I heard a voice in my chamber. I guess I’ll call it my chamber.

The new voice was gravelly, maybe old, but maybe also just worn out. “What did you do to get yourself thrown in here, human?”

Um… I have a jail mate, I guess...


	18. Chapter 18

It took me a few moments to realize that the voice was not old at all, and it was even a little amused. The question itself was not even what I focused on. Isn’t that weird? I was more focused on what sort of voice this person had, or being. I wasn’t even sure it was a person. Probably another one of those robots. Hopefully this one won’t try to kill me, like I’m sure Star-Cream will eventually. That’s not even what scares me most, dying. It’s how I will be in pain beforehand.

The voice waited for my reply, then it seemed to grow tired of waiting and asked the question again. “What did you do to get thrown in here as well as I, human fleshie?”

I looked up finally, only to see that the owner of that voice wasn’t visible. My eyes squinted, but that didn’t help me a bit. This makeup was making my face feel heavy, and my eyelids were paying the price the most. I wanted to just take a five day nap. “I, uh… I’m not sure…”

The noise of shifting metal filled my ears, and soon a blond man walked up to me. Let’s just cut the crap and say he was very attractive. His face was nice, and he had a nice butt. “You must’ve done something to be thrown in here,” he snickered, holding out a hand. “I’m Autobot Sunstreaker. And you are..?”

Warily, I looked at his hand. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t be pulling a trick on me. He totally could be. If he is, it wouldn’t be smart to shake his hand. But at this point, what does it matter? I shook his hand, not being tough at all. I’m not tough. “I’m Jessica Lennox… What kind of name is Sunstreaker?”

The blond man snorted. “The kind of name that isn’t Earthian, Jessica Lennox.” He still sounded amused, like this was all some sort of big joke. “Now here’s my question. Why would Starscream decide to capture you? Just a mere Earthling. A female, nonetheless. Sack of blood and organs and… Organic.” He shuddered, as if the idea disgusted him.

My eyebrows rose a little. “That’s a good way to view me. Sexist pig.” I had been sitting down, so I tried to stand up. A large burst of fiery pain erupted in my leg, making me cry out in agony.

Sunstreaker, I believe he said his name was, knelt down and took a look at my leg. “... Is it suppose to be purple right there?” He prodded the middle of my lower leg, and I whimpered.

It looked like I had gotten hit by a baseball. My leg stung like fire, even if I wasn’t trying to move or stand on it. “It’s not suppose to look like that…” I whispered, trying to hold back tears. No crying. You’ll die soon anyway.

“Ah. I didn’t suppose it was suppose to look so...”

“So disturbing? Yeah, it is disturbing.” No use in hiding it.

He chuckled. “Yes, that might as well have been the word I was searching for. Jessica Lennox, might I inquire why you are in a… Such attire?”

Pretty formal dress? Oh. Right. This will totally end well. “Starscream sorta invited me to a school dance… And that’s where he got me…”

Sunstreaker’s head tilted, then he let out a breath. “I should change back to real form. This holoform is going to be the death of me,” he muttered the last sentence, then the human version of himself disapparated. Like a pile of sparks and dust.

Metal screeched, making my ears hurt more than they had already. This place was full of high-pitched sounds, and I’d hate to be a dog here. Having such acute hearing would not do well in this sort of place.

Loud footfalls neared me, and quickly a yellowish-gold figure came out of the shadows. Another large robotic being, but this one was a bit smaller. Obviously not a lot smaller, but maybe just a little leaner.

Another big difference is the eyes. These eyes were blue, and like a sky blue. A lot like the color of Ron’s eyes-

Ron. His eyes. IRONhide. Ron. Was Starscream talking about Ron…?

If he was, that would explain everything! How he said that I’ve been near Ironhide for a long time, and how he’s been in plain sight of me. How I knew him well, but I really didn’t know him that well. Not as well as I’d like to know him.

Shoot. That’s why I’m here. Because Starscream wanted information about Ron, to hurt him maybe. Even if I knew, I wouldn’t tell. I’m not going to do that, not to him.

The yellow-gold robot knelt down next to me, one servo over his knee joint. “There. That’s better,” he smirked. “What is going on in that unintelligent head of yours?”

I hummed. “Thanks for the confidence. I’m thinking about why I’m here. I think I got it figured out now.” Maybe. I kind of hope this isn’t the case.

“Oh? Do tell, human.”

“Jessica.”

“Excuse me?”

“I said,” I spoke through grinded teeth,” my name is Jessica. Not ‘human’, not ‘fleshy’, it’s Jessica.” If I’m going to die, I might as well be respected first.

Wow, I’m pessimistic. Dying. Maybe I should be a bit more optimistic. _No chores!_

“Alright,  _ Jessica _ .” He put specific emphasis on my name now. “Why do you believe you were thrown in here, hm?”

“Ever heard of a thing named Ironhide?”

Sunstreaker seemed to freeze. “... Ironhide. The weapon specialist?”

“Sure, why not.” I guess that might be his job.

He cleared his throat, or whatever he has. “Ironhide is an old mech. Male of our species, mechs are. How would you know him?”

I shrugged simply in reply. “I know him, I think, because he lives at my uncle’s house. He goes by the human name Ron, and I’ve been acquainted with him for a while now.”

“Okay, I’m beginning to understand this whole situation. Continue.”

Slowly and carefully, thinking out my words before I spoke them, I began explaining how I knew Ron. Starting with what happened to my parents, why I had to be dumped on my uncle right after their deaths, and meeting Ron for the first time.

After a while, Sunstreaker leaned back against the wall opposite of me. “I might be able to clear up some confusion you have.”

I frowned. “How…?”

“Your parents.”


	19. Chapter 19

When you’re in a jail cell, you can’t exactly think straight. Because all you can do in there is think and maybe talk to your less than preferable cell-mate, you tend to go a bit bonkers. At least, I think I did. Just ask Sunstreaker. He knows how crazy I got after a while.

Sunstreaker looked over at me for what seemed like the twentieth time. His optics, as he called them, rolled upwards towards the ceiling before he sighed. “Will you quit that? I’m trying to have some peace and quiet.”

According to him, I had been tapping the entire time. Not that I’ll say I didn’t, but I won’t agree with him. He isn’t ideal, and his attitude if I finally give in to him will only get worse on my behalf. “I’m trying to have some sanity.”

He scoffed, a small puff of air leaving his lip plating. “You require tapping in order to stay sane? That’s unheard of, even for a human. Isn’t it the other way around?”

I shrugged, tapping my high heeled shoes against the ground. I had taken them off, so now they were just in my hands. This whole time, I had been sitting. My leg wasn’t getting any better in these conditions. “Some people hate tapping. Obviously, I like it. Keeps a good beat going on an eight count, which is what I always go by.” 

“Eight count?” He tilted his head confusedly. “Why do you speak in such obscure terms?”

“Why do you use words like ‘obscure’?” I snickered. “I mean, seriously. Look up the Urban Dictionary some time. If we ever get out of here, that is…”

Sunstreaker paused, then smirked. “I have access to the internet. The World Wide Web, in fact. Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.”

I paused. “... If you have that access, then why haven’t you contacted the rest of the Autobots?”

“They may have the same accesses I do, but no information leave my processors. No messages or anything. All ins. No outs.”

“Oh…”

He smiled. A rare thing, I soon realized. “Don’t worry. I have a plan to get us out of here safely. Safe for me, and for you… I’m pretty sure it’ll be safe.”

Sleeping was even tougher than I thought it would be. It’s always so quiet, save for the inhales and exhales that Sunstreaker or I made. The tapping made some sound, and it echoed for a bit, but that wasn’t enough. If I pounded on anything, a guard would come by the front and yell at both of us for making noise. We just can’t win here.

The position I was in was not comfortable. At all. I was sleeping on my stomach, my left side being pressed against the wall. It was a good idea that I wore a pair of shorts underneath my dress, so that part worked out. 

Another thought I had was the top half of me. Boobs, you know? These robot guys, Decepticons (for Starscream and the guards and all the bad guys), and the Autobots (Sunstreaker, good guys)? They all don’t know human anatomy. They won’t care. So I had taken my dress off, leaving my bra on and my undershirt on. It hadn’t been a strapless dress or anything. It all worked out.

The floor was cold. Metal. The walls were freezing. Again, metal. Nothing was in color in here. It was so dark in here, you could hardly see your hand in front of you if you were in here. Even for Sunstreaker, and he had those optic-thingies that let him see in a bit of light. Like night-vision.

A loud footfall in the hallway was the first thing that knocked me out of my sleep. Echoed. Five echos, then it just stopped. The next sound was the sound of metal grinding. Different from when it switched around when those guys transformed. A few sparks hit my leg, burning right where they had hit. I almost moved to itch it, but then I froze. Broken leg there. Can’t itch. Dangit.

“Human?” a voice cooed. “Human, where are you?”

My first thought was motion detectors. They probably had built-in ones, right? So I didn’t move a single muscle. That didn’t work.

A large metal hand grabbed my body, not minding any part of me that was already bruised or scratched or broken. I whimpered softly, but I hadn’t meant to. Crap.

“Little human,” Starscream cooed again, running a clawed finger up my side, making me shudder. What’s he going to do to me now…? “Are you ready for inspection, hm?”

I shook my head instantly, but it was a weak move. All I was doing was things that weren’t smart.

Sunstreaker was asleep, as far as I could tell. His optics were very dim, and he wasn’t moving as far as I could see. This darkness was doing a bunch of negative on my eyes.

Now, here’s the most random part- all this time, I had songs that matched my situation. Like at the dance, it was…. Okay, I forget that one, but right now, it was ‘Because of You’. It’s not a normal thing. Why do I do this? God, I’m weird.

Starscream’s grip was all but gentle as he held me within his metal hand. It almost burned, how hot my skin was and that it was touching his cold metal clawed fingers. He kept smirking down at me, as if noticing my discomfort. “Comfortable?”

Really now. Do I look like I’m comfortable right now? Are you blind? “Oh totally.”

“Don’t give me mouth,” he snarled. “I asked you a question, and I deserve to be answered with dignity.”

“You? Dignity? Puh-lease,” I rolled my eyes. “That’s the last thing you deserve.” Maybe that’s a bit too blunt, but reality better kick in sooner or later to him. He’s a butthead, therefor will be treated as one. That’s just life.

His grip on my tightened significantly. “You will not speak to me that way!” he exclaimed, moving his hand to try to throw me against the wall. Right as he was about to throw me, he pulled back and took in a deep breath. “... Right… Fragile humans… Killing you will do no good.”

Well crap. That was kind of my plan. Killed. At least then I’d be in the clear from for pain.

Starscream wasted no time trying to interrogate me. For four straight hours. I only know because he kept muttering the time that had gone by, thinking that I had not been listening I think. That was all I could tell, then after that, he tossed me (literally) back into the cell with Sunstreaker, who was up and alert.

I looked up at Sunstreaker, then leaned back against the wall and played with cracking my fingers. “What’s up, buttercup?” He was yellow, so that worked.

He rolled his optics. “Don’t even attempt the pet names, human.”

I cleared my throat.

“What?”

“My name, buttercup?”

“Jessica Lennox.”

“There we go, Sunstreaker!” I smiled finally. I know he knew it already, but at least this was something to do. If I didn’t have him to talk to, I’d probably go insane. Going insane wasn’t the worst option… But it also wasn’t the best option. I’d like living normally, but I don’t even think that’s a thing anymore.

Sunstreaker transformed down into his ‘alt mode’, as he called it, and turned on his ‘holoform’, also what he called  _ that _ . It was the same blond male from before. He didn’t do that often, turning on his holoform, except for when he decided closer interaction was best.

The blond holoform looked at me, then sat down at my side and pulled me into him. “I’m working on a plan to get us out.”

Finally, a soft side to that hard mech. “Really?”

He nodded with a small smile. “Really. It’ll go into action tomorrow, I just hope you can hobble a little. I can’t carry you the whole way.”

I snickered. “But you’re like twenty times my size! You can pull it off.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh really now? I need my hands free and my tanks empty from human contamination.”

“Gee, that makes me sound like I’m some infected parasite.” 

“You are, get used to it.”

Sounds like my choreographer from back home. Ben. He was a great choreographer… 


	20. Chapter 20

It seems that every few seconds, a new thought pops into my head. Ron. Uncle Will. Aunt Sarah. Annabelle. Do they know I’m gone? How long has it been? Am I ever going to see them again?

Sunstreaker says I will see them again, but I’m not even sure with him. He only cares about getting any scratches on his paint job at this point. I can’t even touch his finger anymore without him squealing like a little girl and backing away.

Even up to now, he hasn’t told me his great plan to get us out of here. He says he does have a plan. But then refuses to tell me what it is. I’m beginning to think that he doesn’t have a plan, and that I’m just going to end up dying here, whether it be by Starscream’s hand or myself. Because seriously. What point is life when you live in this hellhole?

“Would you stop that tapping?” Sunstreaker growled, giving me one of his usual harsh glares. As if he thought that would scare me enough to make me stop tapping.

What he has against my tapping is beyond me. I have no clue. Maybe he’s just a weird mech like that. “No, I’m good. I’m thinking.” Before I could say anything else, I sneezed. That single sneeze wracked my body, making goosebumps appear on my skin. My eyes even watered a bit. This is why I hate sneezing.

As if thinking this made him ‘win’, Sunstreaker snickered. “Serves you right, flesh-”

“Achem!”

“Jessica…. I was going to say Jessica.”

“Oh sure you were,” I rolled my eyes. Truly, he wasn’t that bad, just we’re both in bad spots. Hungry. Tired. Irritable. And when I’m all those at the same time, let’s just say it’s not long before I crash. Hopefully not literally, though.

He knelt down next to me, his face inches from mine, and grinned. His optics were the brightest they had ever been. “I was not going to say Jessica. But I did.”

I poked his nose, or whatever it is suppose to be called. “You did. But you shouldn’t have to be correcting yourself.”

He leaned back and threw his servos up. “So?! I try, at least! That’s more than I can say for-” He stopped himself.

I laughed and looked at him. “Yeah? Yeah? Go on!”

A loud crashing sound, a metal fist met the metal bars of our cell, made both of us jump. There was a loud growl, then a shout. It was almost inaudible. The only thing I got out of it was ‘shut up’, but that was a single phrase in the jumble of things I heard. Then I heard a trail of footfalls going away from us, then silence.

It took a few minutes for Sunstreaker to break the silence. When he finally did, he was rumbling in laughter. “You are frightened easily, hm?”

If my leg wasn’t in so much pain, I would have walked right up to him and slapped him in the face. I wish I could have. That would have so been worth it.

The next ‘morning’, I think it was, Starscream didn’t call for me again like he had before. They never sent us food. No Energon for Sunstreaker, no… Food food for me, just nothing. My stomach was seriously making some noise, and with the echo in our cell, Sunstreaker looked about ready to kill me.

A few minutes passed yet another one of my stomach growling sessions, and Sunstreaker’s optics dimmed a bit. They stayed dim for a few seconds, then popped back up to their normal brightness. “Jessica?”

Oh, so he does remember. That’s a shocker. Proud of you, Buttercup! “Yes?” I tilted my head at his questioning look.

“It has been three Earth days since you have gotten here. I believe it is time for us to make our escape. You will perish soon if we do not.”

And he does his research on the human race as well. Three days? Wow, three days here without food or water or anything.. That’s… Not what I thought would happen. I thought it was only a day or two. My sense of time is not good. “Okay…? What’s the plan?”

A grin appeared on his faceplate before he dove into explaining all about his plan. He did have one. And it wasn’t very thorough. But it just might work.

It was suppose to start out with me making a distraction. Something that the main guard would want to stop immediately. Buttercup had suggested tapping or singing loudly, so I chose what I thought would be best fit. What I do best.

“Jesussss take the wheeeeel!” I screamed, covering my eyes with my arms. “Taakeee it from mah hands!” I was totally off-key and sounded like I was screeching. Thank God that nobody back home could hear me. I’d be the laughing stock of the entire town. Not all of Washington DC of course, that’s got a lot more people. Old town. My old town. Home.

The usual large purple guard walked up to the cell doors and wasted no time to pound on it. “Hey! Be quiet, human!” the mech shouted, pounding harder on the bars.

Sunstreaker absently snickered from where he sat in the corner. “She won’t stop singing! Isn’t it terrible?”

I’m going to kill him when we get out of here. Maybe.

The guard was unlocking the door and stepped inside. “Really? Why the frag not?!”

Sunstreaker shrugged. “She says it helps her focus.”

“It helps me not focus!” he exclaimed, then walked over to me. He had left the cell door wide open, and Sunstreaker grinned. It was all slowly falling into place. The guard looked at me, then shook a large black finger at me. “Human! You stop that!”

It took all I had not to grin at him. But I managed to not grin, and changed my song. “ _Spark of creatioooon!_ ” Why was I singing all those old show choir songs? Because… I wish I knew. Totally, I wish I knew why, but hey, it was making him lose his marbles.

The purple and black glared at me, thinking it would scare me like it always ‘had’ (I’m a good actress, apparently), and then moved to slap me. Sunstreaker was quick on his pedes to reach over and grab my body before darting out of the cell, slamming the door and locking it.

My leg was stilled by his fingers, and I was thankful it was cold. My swollen leg was stinging, and it would only make it worse if he was hot. I ducked my head as he ran through the halls. He kept murmuring things to me as he ran, like it would help.

The first thing he muttered was “Empty halls.” So there was terrible security here. He was right on that note.

The second thing he said was “On a ship”. Meaning we were in the air. How the heck are we going to safely get off then? I’m pretty sure he’s not a flyer.

Then the last thing he said was “Quiet.”

Oh, like I was making much noise after that.

“Human! Autobot! _Loose_!” I heard a voice cry out, then sirens began to blare out. I opened my eyes a little, only to find that I was no longer in Sunstreaker’s hand. No, I was… Inside of him? What?!

Another voice next to my ear whispered, “Stay still, Jessica.” It was Susntreaker. So he can make his voice come _inside_ his body…? What? What…?

This is so messed up, I can’t even… I can’t… Comprehend it…

Finally, there was a sharp yell of “Don’t!” and then I got a tingly feeling in my stomach. It was like that feeling when you’re on a roller coaster and you’re going down.

“Brace yourself, Jessica!” Sunstreaker screamed.


	21. Chapter 21

Brace thyself. That should be my new motto. Brace thyself for thy surprises life bringeth upon thee. I could totally be the great great great granddaughter of Shakespeare. It’s like perfect for me. I should start talking like that normally. Wait, no. Not a good idea. Nevermind.

Quickly, I searched where I was for something to hold on to. After about three seconds, the longest three seconds of my life, I found this handlebar that I gripped. I held onto it like my life depended on it, my legs right behind me in the weirdest position. Suddenly, it was like I went from zero gravity to like twenty thousand pounds of gravity.

My entire body was slammed down onto the ground, my head banged against the wall. It wasn’t a large space, so it was terrible. It made my entire body hurt, and my leg felt like it was going to fall off. It was all dark and cold and dark and cold and cold… Did I mention how cold it was? Because it was very cold.

“Jessica? Jessica Lennox?” Sunstreaker said breathily, opening his chest plates. So that’s where I had been. And there was the sky. Beautiful sky. “We’re out…”

Out. No longer in that accursed cell guarded by those Decepticons, the bad guys. No longer starved forever, and thinking we would soon die because of worthlessness.

Wow. I’m very pessimistic now. That will _have_ to change. At least I'm alive!

Or maybe I'm not. I could be hallucinating or dreaming all of this. Seriously, this doesn't seem real.

“So, Jessica,” Sunstreaker started as he sat up, pulling me out of his chest plating. He set me down on his knee and leaned down to gaze at me. “Where do we go from here?”

I shrugged, keeping my leg still as much as possible. No use in making it hurt more than need be. “I don’t know. Back to Washington DC, but I don’t know the way.”

He snickered and poked my head with one of his fingers. “Really now? You don’t know the way back to where you came from?”

Scoffing, I crossed my arms. “I haven’t lived there for long. Only like a month. Do you expect me to know the exact longitude and latitude of the house? Or my bedroom?”

“I expected you to at least know how to get there from here. This is Earth, your home planet. You should know things about the planet.”

Rolling my eyes, like I usually did when I was talking with him, I said, “Do you know of every aspect of Cybertron?” Where he said they came from. Lots of talking happened back on that Decepticon ship. Let’s just say that I learned a lot, and there’s not much Uncle Will can keep from me now.

After a small pause, he grinned and nodded. “Yes. I did.”

Looks like I’m in the hands of a braggart. Literally.

Not being decent whilst being with a large alien being is not the most pleasant thing in the world, especially when he realized that you aren’t decent and starts prodding you with weird uncomfortable questions. It was like he was trying to internally tear me apart with embarrassing questions.

The questions were all unique, random, and nothing short of weird and embarrassing and uncomfortable and crappy. What’s a period? What is sex? Is it like interfacing? What do you do to pleasure yourself?   
Okay. Shut up. I don’t want to answer. Go ask someone who will answer.

A half hour after that weird questioning session, Sunstreaker was driving his alt mode along some highway. Were were in Florida, near Orlando I think. There were Disney World signs littered along the sides of the highway and the mile markers. It was about eight at night, humid as heck, and still light out.

Why did we have to be near Orlando? Why why why? I’m not one for this humid place, and the last time I was here was with my parents. The last thing I need right now is memories. Just no. NO.

Sunstreaker played some smooth jazz through his speakers. His holoform was off, so I was in the front seat. If we get stopped, I don’t have a clue what we’ll do. I have no ID or any licenses. If we get pulled over, we’re pretty much screwed.

Then, the radio station changed. Some weird Christina Aguilera song. Wait, no. Yes to the artist, no to the weird part. This is a good song.

“ _Say something, I’m giving up on you_ ,” her voice rang out from the speakers. Sunstreaker turned up the volume, and I smiled. Good taste in music, he has. _“I’m sorry that I couldn’t get to you_ ….”

Wait just a second. Two voices. Hello. There’s a male singer here. Who- Oh, yeah. A Great Big World. That’s what their YouTube video said. It was Big World and Christina.

“Anywhere I would have followed you,” I sang softly along with that music. The car, oh excuse me, it was Buttercup, jolted.

“What are you doing?” he demanded, turning off the radio. “I was enjoying a beautiful female singing! Your voice is _awful_!”

I scoffed. “It is not! It’s not fancy, but it’s not awful like you say it is!”

“It is  _ not  _ music to my ears,” he declared, turning the radio up very loud on a different song so he couldn’t hear me.

_ “LATELY, I’VE BEEN, I’VE BEEN PRAYIN’ HARD- SAID NO MORE COUNTIN’ DOLLARS, WE’LL BE COUNTIN’ STARS!” _

Okay, now he plays a show choir song from last year. Not only does he insult my voice, which I do not at all appreciate, he plays a song that I love to death. Great. Thanks, Buttercup.

After some time, I must have fallen asleep. By the time I woke up, the sun was rising up in the East. Because it always rises in the East. That’s how I know my directionals. Rises in the east, sets in the West. And the Never Eat Soggy Waffles, that also helps me with the North and South.

The roads we now passed were pretty good. Looked just about new, really. The road signs listed the rest stops, since we were on a large highway with semis and stuff. There was a little bathroom stop a few miles East, then a few restaurants that were not too far away. There was another Walmart sign, then a Target sign (who uses Target nowadays? Seriously?). I don’t have money, so that’s out.

“Hold on a second… Yes I do… It’s in my side purse…. I thought I forgot it!”

“What are you babbling about, Jessica?” Sunstreaker sighed, his engine making a few weird backfiring noises. I guess I’d be tired too, if I was driving for so long without food.

I smiled. “I have money, so could we stop by a Walmart? It says it’s off the next exit, on the right side of the road.”

He hummed. “Ah… What’s an exit…?”

“That, right there!”

He almost missed the exit, even with me telling him where to turn. He’s damn tired. Excuse my language, but it’s just the truth. The dude needs a Monster or something. Maybe some Red Bull. Or-

“I’ll get you a Full Throttle,” I laughed as he parked, and I hopped out of his front seat.

His altmode noticeably sank down on its axles. “Oh really now?”

“Yes. And you’ll enjoy it, so I’ll be right back.

At least this was Walmart, so they wouldn’t look at me weirdly for my clothing. Or lack of it.

My high heels clicked against the tiled floor as I walked through the store. My goal was to be quick. Get an outfit, a snack, energy drink for me and him, then leave. I only had fifty dollars, and with the prices rising so much lately, I’m not sure it’ll even get the outfit. It doesn't have to be comfy- just has to fit. Mostly.

Hey, at least my hair wasn’t terrible looking. I just ran a brush through it _(They don’t like you to use brushes without buying them, by the way…)_ and boom. Done. Easy peasy.

I made my way to the clothing department of the store. They had a large array of shirts in one section, the larges and extra larges and the double exes, then the mediums and smalls, then the extra smalls and the extra extra smalls. How do girls get to that point? Where they wear the extra extra smalls? Are you eating nothing?

That’s not healthy, and you should get that checked out. Like now. Go. Bye.

I fingered my way through the section where they had the medium sized shirts. Smalls were a bit tight, and mediums were a bit loose. I’d rather go for a loose, comfy look.

And there it was. A shirt that looked awesome. A music note on the front, black, and then around it was purple. The shirt itself was white, and it looked cool. I took that shirt, then got a pair of fuzzy sleep pants that I was pretty sure would fit me. It didn’t match, but it was rainbow. Support, you know? No, I don’t roll that way, but I enjoy the company of people that do. Don’t judge. No.

Those two pieces of clothing were in my arms, then I headed over to the food section. Not the frozen foods, because I was damn sure that Sunstreaker didn’t have a microwave up his butt. Or an oven. So that was just out.

I grabbed a box of Cheez-Its, a big box, and then when I headed over to the cash registers, I grabbed two energy drinks. A white Monster for me, a normal Full Throttle for Sunstreaker’s holoform.

After paying for all my stuff, I ran back to Sunstreaker and shoved my stuff in the back seat before getting in.

“Don’t turn on your holoform yet,” I said as I started to pull down my spanks.

Sunstreaker snickered and started to turn his holoform on. I threw a shoe in his direction, and he stopped. I pulled on the sleep pants, then stripped myself of my lady items and slipped on the shirt over my head.

“Okay, we’re good,” I said, climbing into the front seat with my bag of clothes. I threw the bag at my feet, then opened the energy drink.

His holoform appeared in the passenger seat. Buttercup eyed me, and gave me a weird look.

“What?”

“You look…”

“Different? Yeah, that’s it. Here.” I opened his drink, then handed it to him. “It’s fizzy, but that’s a good thing. It’s mainly carbonated water and sugar, then the caffeine and etcetera.”

Sunstreaker nodded, then lifted the drink up to his lips and tilted his head back. He had closed his eyes, but then they shot open as soon as the drink met his mouth.

I laughed as I put his altmode into gear. “I’m driving. You rest, okay?”

His eyes narrowed as he put the drink down in his lap. “Don’t crash.”

“... Fine.”


	22. Chapter 22

Driving through the northern parts of Florida isn't as fun as they make it out to be. That is, if they make it out to be fun. Not likely. It's boring, and there are tolls every thirty miles. I barely have money. You think I want to pay that price?

No! But if I want to go through, I just dig through my purse and shove the money to the person. Hopefully it's enough. Sometimes it isn't, but I sometimes have more. If I run out, though, I'm screwed. Big time.

I opened my window to let some fresh air in. The wind blew my hair back, making it look like I just woke up from a long nap. Truly, I don't mind that much. SUNSTREAKER might, but I don't. He's picky about how I look inside him now.

That sounds so wrong, I swear...

The bad thing about me driving is I don't know where to go. I didn't live near here. I just know to go North, head towards Washington DC, but after I get there, then what? It's a huge city. The odds of me finding my uncle are slim to none.

The blond haired man sleeping shotgun was snoring. One wouldn't think he snored, since its considered I attractive, but this guy? Yeah, he snores, and not too quietly.

I mean, I snore, but only if I don't end up sleeping well. I sleep better not snoring. Maybe that's just me, though.

As I turned onto the next highway, one heading northeast, I saw a pile of garbage bags on the side of the highway. Full of litter and trash. That's disgusting. It smelled bad enough to make me want to roll up my window, which somehow woke up Snoring Beauty.

Sunstreaker snorted in his sleep, then slowly blinked open his eyes. "Wha...?"

Snickering to myself, I patted his leg. "Welcome back, Buttercup."

He glared at me before it broke into a large yawn. It must've hurt the sides of his mouth, really. It was huge. "Shaddup..."

Laughing again, I turned up the radio. I had earlier changed it to an old rock and roll station. The oldies were always the best. Music nowadays has just gone to crap.

The roads started to get worse, more bumpy, as I drove closer to the border of Florida. The drive would obviously last a long time, longer than I had first anticipated. Especially since I'm horrible with reading signs.

Sunstreaker, once he was more than half awake, began to critique my driving. Please note that I'm about sixteen. Barely have my license. Don't expect me to be a perfect driver.

"You need to go faster-"

"I'm already driving five miles above the speed limit-"

"It'll take us a billion orns to get to our destination at this rate," he complained, groaning.

In reply, I just turned the radio down a little. "You're not the most enjoyable company, are you?"

"Negative," he said.

"I could tell. Real funny guy, you are," I teased.

The car, or altmode if you wish, was very easy to drive. The brakes were a bit touchy, but that's it. The steering wheel smoothly turned, and the engine sounded like it was purring as I hit over seventy miles per hour.

It did interest me a bit. The past of these guys, these Cybertronians. Alien robots.

Do I want to know? Not really. But whether or not I know, their history is still there. Might as well learn what I can.

At least, that's what my father would have said.

"Sunshine?"

"What?" He sighed.

"Could you tell me a bit about Cybertron...?"

The idea seemed to lift his spirits. He noticeably rose from his seat, sitting up straighter. "Of course. Where should I begin?"

"How about..." I paused. "... Hm... What was it like? Before the war." In the cell, he always muttered things about the 'war'. It was still going on. Hence why the Decepticons were after him, and me, I think.

Sunstreaker took his time, thinking over what to reply. Finally, he answered. "Cybertron was beautiful. The skies were always clear, the cities always bustling with population. It was much bigger than Earth, of course-"

When he spoke about his home planet, he got this peace to his voice. An airy tone, even. It was like when he spoke of his past, he drowned himself in all the good memories he had there.

When the digital clock on the radio turned from 5:59 to 6:00 PM, I was hungry again, but all the tolls had taken my money. All cleaned out. My parents had left me a large sum of money.

But that's for college.

But if I don't use it, I could starve...

Sunshine was still talking happily about his old home planet as I nodded along, like I was listening. Instead of really paying attention, though, I was looking for a specific bank name. Wells Fargo, I think it was called.

In the Midwest, those banks are all over, but here in the East, they are less than scarce. What started out as a light search soon turned to a frantic scurry to find a sign saying that name.

Soon enough, I believe Sunstreaker caught on. I wasn't nodding to him anymore. "What are you doing, Jessica Lennox?"

I shrugged, stopping at a local stop sign. "Looking for a bank."

"Why?"

"So I can get money out for food. To eat, to live...?" I gestured to my stomach with one hand, leaving my other hand on the steering wheel. Safety first.

Sunstreaker laughed. "Humans. You can't last a day without food?"

I pursed my lips into a thin, grim line. "Water is more needed, but for this road trip, I'd like to have both my hunger and thirst taken care of."

He laughed. "Humans." Shaking his head like we were some ridiculous creatures.

In truth, we probably are ridiculous. It's suppose to be Survival of the Fittest, but we aren't fit at all. We don't adapt. We change nature. We are lazy. We do things quick, not paying Amy mind to how it'll affect generations yet to come.

We are a stupid species. And the sad thing is- we know it, but we refuse to do a thing about it. Not a thing.

An hour later, around eight at night, I finally found what I was looking for. The black and maroon sign of Wells Fargo.

As I pulled up to the drive-in ATM machine, a siren started whirring. It was loud, and hurt my ears. The ringing didn't stop.

Sunstreaker froze, then his holoform quickly disappeared. "Let me drive, Jessica! Off the brake!

I pulled my foot off the brake, and I could see the accelerator be pressed to the back of the foot area.

"Hold on!" he screamed.

" _ Jessica _ !" A voice called.

But before I knew it, we were doing 150 on the highway.


	23. Chapter 23

Within minutes, Sunstreaker and I were presumably out of earshot or eyesight of the man who had called my name. His voice wasn’t someone that I recognized at all, and that almost scared me. Was it the Decepticons, trying to get me again? Why me, of all people? I’m nothing special.

Sunstreaker was breathing a big heavier than usual. Slowly he pulled between two parking spaces in a park-and-ride near the Georgia/South Carolina/ Tennessee borders. It hadn’t taken that long for him to speed through traffic, though it surprised me that we didn’t meet any police cars.

When I brought up that topic to him, he laughed and said something about ‘police scanners’ and a police car radar.

Oh, of course. Silly me. If people can get them, no doubt alien robotic beings from outer space can get them as well, but easier. How on Earth could I think otherwise?

Seriously, I should become a comedian for this kind of stuff. I’d be the hoot of America, if you know what I mean.

A loud, dramatic sigh tore me from my thoughts. Sunstreaker. “It’s nine hours from here to where you want to go. We’re near Tallulah Gorge State Park.”

That’s still closer than where we were when we started out. I took it as a good sign of slow progress. “Okay… Where exactly is this state park?”

His holoform appeared next to me, in the passenger’s seat, looking completely exhausted. “It’s… Borders of Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee… I think.”

Maybe paying attention in geography class back in sixth grade would have been a good idea. They always did say that you’d need it someday, and now I know I do. “Okay…”

“Need a map?” he smirked, pulling out what looked like an iPad or a tablet out of his glovebox. “Has Wireless Connection and everything.”

Oh, of course he has that sort of technology. Advanced species here. “Thanks,” I said, rolling my eyes. I took the piece of technology out of his hands, and got on Google Maps. Because why not? I typed in where we were, and it came up with a park that was right on the borders of all three states, all North of Florida. “We’ve gone eight hours to get here… So that means we’re halfway there, right?”

“Right,” he nodded, putting himself into gear. I didn’t even care if I looked like I was driving anymore, so I kept the tablet in my hands.

After a few minutes of him driving, I looked over. “Hey, do you mind if I use this for a bit?” It had a camera, and it was free to upload a Skype app. 

Sunstreaker shrugged, and his holoform was wiping off some dust on his dashboard.

I know that Sarah has Skype, to keep in contact with Uncle Will. She uses it mostly when he’s deployed overseas, so that means that Uncle Will also has it. But I don’t know either of their Skype usernames.

So that’s out of the question.

If I had my phone, maybe then I’d remember their numbers. With phones nowadays, you don’t have to remember a phone number, so you don’t even try to. It bugs me in times like this. That was the beauty of the older phones. Sure they didn’t do much, but they let you know the phone numbers yourself. So in times like this, you’d know them. In emergencies you’d know them.

Now I understand why my parents were wary of getting me a smartphone when I turned fifteen, even though I paid for it monthly and everything. Their intentions were good, and actually in my favor. But I didn’t listen. I never listened.

So many times that I should have listened to them and I didn’t…

From the corner of my eye, I saw Sunstreaker look over at me.

“What?”

“What are you doing?”

I shrugged. “I’m thinking.”

“You’re tapping your greasy fingers on the screen of my tablet,” he said in a low tone. “I don’t appreciate it.”

I snorted. “Oh, please. It can be washed off.”

He raised his eyebrows. “But do you have the means, currently, to do so?”

“... No…”

“Exactly.”

He’s such a nice person, really.

North Carolina isn’t such a bad place, I soon figured out. It looks a bit bland to me, though. Still not a terrible place. Could be much much worse, like smog and mud and all that.

But ha, that’s all in New York City. The place I never want to go, even if somebody paid me. Too many people, too much going on. I’d have a heart attack after five minutes of just standing there.

“Are we there yet?” I asked. We had yet again switched seats, so I was in the passenger side. He liked driving like this, he said it made him feel more in control.

You’re the car. How much more control can you get?

“No, we are not there yet,” he sighed, speeding up a few miles. Our normal speed was around seventy, five miles per hour above the normal speed limit on these four lane highways. Luckily for us, the highways were never really busy, so there was little chance of us getting caught by a police car. Especially with his police scanner thing that he says is inside his processor.

This is how he explained it. It’s like a rader where he can tell what the police officers are saying to each other over their radios, and he can track where the police cars are. Hence the whole radar system.

Not the most high tech thing in the world, but hey, it works for him.

_ “White knuckles and sweaty palms from hanging on too tight-” _

“Ooh, that’s Pink on the radio!” I grinned, turning up the sound to where the base surely was going to be loud. My music needs to be heard. Well, not  _ my  _ music, but the music I like. Because there’s a reason I like it.

Sunstreaker let out yet another one of his sighs, but didn’t fight me. He knew that at this point, it was no use.

_ “Clenched shut jaw, I've got another headache again tonight-” _

Sunstreaker was silent through that whole song, and when it was over, he just shut the radio off. It was obvious tht he was glad I didn’t sing, but he still got annoyed by all the singing that I did along to it.

That’s what I don’t get. I’m told that I have an okay singing voice, then we have him, who says that I suck. I’ve listened to myself sing. It’s not perfect, but it’s also not terrible. It won’t win American Idol, but it won’t make all three judges say no. It’s not terrible.

“Why’d you turn the radio off?” I asked, crossing my arms. The radio was pretty much the only thing that kept me semi-sane on this whole trip. Or my whole life.

Sunstreaker gave me a look, one that said ‘you seriously don’t know?’. But he didn’t reply, only turning back and driving with a small smirk on his face.

“Ass. Hole.”

“Thank you,” he grinned.


	24. Chapter 24

As the day drew to a close, we were getting even closer to Washington DC. It was a bit odd to know that I was traveling by myself, with no family, and with a robotic being. Or that I was inside said robotic being, but I’m not going to be prejudice. Much.

He never slept on the trip after that one small nap he took. It seemed that he didn’t trust me at all with anything, so he drove the entire time. Radio turned completely off. I tried to get on my Facebook account on the tablet to contact my family or friends, or anybody I could think of, but I just couldn't get it to work.

When I asked Sunstreaker about it, he said that social media didn’t work on that tablet. Only COMM calls and video chats. I wish I knew what a COMM call was, but he didn’t bother to explain. He took the five seconds to answer, then was right back to speeding on the dark highway.

I was dozing off, leaning back in my seat. It was an hour or so after I fell asleep that the tablet started vibrating. Slowly, I woke up and looked at the screen.

In swirly text, there was a name. Or I thought it was a name. ‘Sideswipe’.

Sunstreaker looked over with a small sigh. “Who is calling me?”

“Sideswipe-”

“What?” He instantly took the tablet from my hands and set it up on the dash. Then he clicked the ‘answer’ button, and a silver robotic face appeared on the screen. “Sides?”

The face on the screen lit up, almost literally. “Sunny!”

“That’s a new one,” I snickered. “Who’s that, Sunstreaker?”

“I’m his brother!” the voice cried, a grin appearing on the silver faceplate of the robot. In the background, there were a lot of voices. A few that I didn’t know, but some of them sounded a little bit familiar.

Which couldn’t be possible. Or it could, I really don’t know. I wish I knew.

Sunstreaker smiled. An actual smile, for once. “Sideswipe is my twin brother. He’s with Optimus Prime in Washington, I think.”

“Actually, we’re moving all of our things to Diego Garcia,” Sideswipe corrected, stretching a little. I think he was trying to be impressive. “The human government didn’t like us being in Washington, too close to the civilians.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Oh? But don’t they need to be close, to you know, protect us?”

“I guess, but not that close. Just in case the Decepticons are going to attack us-”

“Sideswipe!” a deep voice called out. “Who are you talking to? I was under the impression you were going to train with Ironhide.”

“I-I was, but then I saw that Sunstreaker’s COMM link and video links were back online, sir!” Sideswipe turned around to say. “He’s okay!”

A large red and blue robot walked up to the video camera and gazed into it. “Sunstreaker? And who is that female with you?”

“Optimus, sir,” Sunstreaker’s holoform gave him a nod. He didn’t even have to pay attention to the road anymore. He was the car, after all. “This is Jessica Lennox, the human who helped make our escape on the Decepticon ship.”

“Jessica Lennox?” Optimus, the mech, sounded amused. “Of any relation to William Lennox?”

I nodded. This was a bit weird. Talking to people who knew my family. Oh yay. “He’s my uncle-”

“He has been looking for you,” Optimus said gently. “He’s at his home with his wife, Sarah, to put up posters.”

I laughed softly. “Well… No posters needed, sir.”

He nodded. Their faces looked very human-like, except for the fact that they were completely made of metal and some weird liquid called Energon. It was their blood, their life source, according to Sunstreaker. And I know that he needed some soon.

“Wait, you’re the Jessica that Ironhide keeps blabbering about?” Sideswipe asked, his metal face scrunched up in confusion.

I frowned back at him, looking right into the camera. “What…? No, he probably wouldn’t talk about me at all.”

Sideswipe snickered. “Girl, please. Do you know this mech?”

“Yes.”

“Then he’s going to talk about you in some way.”

So the guy likes to talk about people he knows. That’s a shocker.

A few hours later, Sunstreaker nudged me on my shoulder. A little bit harder than necessary, I might add. “Jessica? Are you awake?”

“Nope, I’m dreaming. Shut up,” I said with a roll of my eyes. “Yes, I’m awake, Sunny.”

He scowled, obviously disliking the name. Even though his beloved twin brother Sideswipe calls him that as well. Maybe I’m not on the same boat as Sideswipe is to Sunstreaker. “You might need to.. Decent-up. The Autobots are meeting us in five miles.”

“Five miles?”

“Approximately four minutes till we meet up. Would you care to decent-up?”

“You mean freshen-up?” I laughed at his face when I said ‘freshen up’. “What?”

He hummed. “That sounds like you are…. Going to undress…”

I scoffed. “Ew, no! You pervert!” Leaning over, I slapped him on his shoulder. He pulled away, but didn’t do anything but snicker.

I pulled down the little mirror above my seat, the one that people use to block the sun, and ran my fingers through my hair. The purple streaks were faded to an awkward blue color, and my roots looked black. Disgusting greasy hair. “Shit…”

Sunstreaker tapped his thumbs against the steering wheel. “Why do you use curse words?”

I shrugged, shaking my head. “Can you see my hair? It’s disgusting. And I’m suppose to meet the Autobots like this. How is that possibly going to go well?”

He smiled softly, one of the only smiles I’ve seen on him. “Because they’re the Autobots. I’m the worst of them anyway. And if you can deal with me, you’ll deal just fine with the rest.”

That was oddly comforting.

Just as he had told me, a few minutes later, I could see a small group of cars. One was a black truck. The one I could see out my bedroom window at Uncle Will’s house.

Sunstreaker chuckled. “There’s Ironhide… You said you knew him, right?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I knew him… We kind of only just tolerated each other.”

My uncle was pacing in the middle of the group of vehicles. There was a huge red and blue semi truck, then a red Lamborghini, and a green and white ambulance. Of course, then the black truck too. Ironhide…

Sunstreaker kept his holoform activated as we drew near them. I could feel my heart pounding against my chest. Meeting the Autobots. With greasy hair. Yes, that will end well.

Every second felt like it took forever, yet it went so fast as well.

When he stopped his altmode, I couldn’t help but feel a bit… Awkward. I know none of these guys, save for Ironhide and Uncle Will. And those are the only ones that supposedly know me. It took me a few minutes to bring up the courage to get out of his altmode. 

As I stepped out, I felt the hot sun hit my skin like a slap on the face. It was so hot. Inside his altmode, it was so cold and amazing and perfect. I felt like I just wanted to go back inside his altmode and sleep for ages.

Alas, it was a fool’s wish. Uncle Will didn’t waste any time to wrap me in a tight hug, lifting me up in the air a few inches. He didn’t let go after three seconds. Or ten. Or even thirty. No, he kept me in that lung-crushing hug.

“Jess…. We were so worried…”

I hugged him back gently. My strength had gone down. Living off of fast food doesn’t make you very muscular. In conclusion, that’s not what Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson eats every day. Case closed. “Hey…”

Uncle Will kissed the top of my greasy head. I didn’t understand why. It had to look horrific. But he did anyway. He looked down, and paused. “... What’s wrong with your leg, Jessica?”

Smiling weakly, I replied, “Happens when you’re thrown against a wall… At least it's not broken?”

A little ways in front of us, Sunstreaker and a brown-haired guy that looked exactly like him were hugging. Holoform of course. I didn’t see any giant metal robots in sight so far, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to know that all these vehicles were indeed Autobots. The two guys, looking in their mid-twenties, kept whispering things into each other’s ear. I couldn’t hear them, just that faint whisper noise.

Uncle Will let go of me and knelt down on one knee. “When did this happen?”

‘When I was a brat’ I wanted to reply, but instead I said, “When Starscream threw me against a wall. It wasn’t very.. fun…”

A grunting noise came from behind me. I’d know that grunt anywhere.

“When I get ahold of that fragger, I’ll-”

“Ironhide,” a calm, deep voice chided gently.

Another grunt. I turned my head to see the large, muscled and buff form of Ron. Ironhide. It made me feel happy inside. So happy, in fact, that I decided to take a few steps forward to hug him.

Biggest mistake of my life.

I cried out in agony as my legs buckled underneath me. Uncle Will shouted something, I couldn’t understand whatever it was.

A hand was placed on my leg. I hissed, the light touch causing my muscles to contract.

“Shh. I’m just going to help you.” It was another male voice. Is it just me, or are all of the Autobots turning out to be mechs? Male? That’s sexist.

“ ‘Help me’ my ass…” I mumbled irritably, shooting him a glare.

Ironhide knelt down next to me, one eyebrow raised. “You don’t seem to have lost any fire, have you?”

I shook my head. “Nope…”

The man, holoform excuse me, chuckled. “Fiery femme… Jessica, correct?”

“Yeah, and you are…?”

“You may call me Ratchet.”

Oh, I may. What a privilege.

Looking up, I saw the one man I didn’t know. The one with the very deep voice, who had just spoken to Ironhide about something or other.

He tipped his hat to me when our eyes met. It looked like a fedora, truthfully, the hat did. It was a pretty style, one I didn’t often see guys wear. “I am Optimus Prime. You’ve been through a lot, Jessica.”

I nodded silently. ‘That, I have,’ I thought to myself quietly. ‘But I must be strong.’


End file.
